The Republic of Korea basketball delegation arrives in Pyongyang

World Today

The Republic of Korea basketball delegation arrives in Pyongyang

The Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are preparing for their first inter-Korean basketball game in 15 years. The South Korean delegation arrived in Pyongyang Tuesday.

CGTN’s Su Xiaoxiao reports.

For the first time in nearly 70 years, South Korean military airplanes touched down on DPRK soil. Two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft brought to the north not soldiers, but envoys for peace and friendship.

At a short meeting with South Korean delegation, DPRK’s Vice sports minister Won Kil U told his guests that the more meetings and exchanges we have with the South, the stronger the ties we feel for unification.

The 101 member ROK delegation includes 50 basketball players from South Korea’s men’s and women’s National Basketball teams. The rest are officials, reporters and producers. This is the first inter-Korean match in 15 years.

Over the next two days, ROK and DPRK are planning four games including two mixed matches and two friendly matches. There will be no national anthem playing or flag raising.

The games were agreed planned by the two sides at a meeting in Panmunjom in mid-June.

The game is an implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration. And Seoul hopes that the unification basketball game will push forward the Korean peace process, Rok’s Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, who also leads the ROK delegation said.

DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and other high-level officials are expected to meet with the South Korean delegation. The ROK delegation is scheduled to return home on Friday.