Olympic and government officials from North Korea and South Korea have met at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters to confirm how they will unite for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games next month.
IOC Thomas Bach said Saturday that North and South Korean teams will march together at the opening ceremony under a Korean unification flag.
“This was not an easy journey but thanks to the commitment of everyone here today I’m happy to announce that athletes from [the] NOC (National Olympic committee) of the DPRK (North Korea) will participate in the Olympic Winter Games [in] Pyeongchang 2018. The IOC today has taken exceptional decisions and has allocated additional quota for 22 athletes from the NOC of the DPRK, who will compete in three sports and five disciplines in Pyeongchang,” Bach said.
The IOC hosted a four-party meeting in the Swiss city of Lausanne Saturday about North and South Korean participation.
The National Olympic Committee of the DPRK, the National Olympic Committee of the ROK (Republic of South Korea), the organizing committee for the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang and IOC representatives took part in the talks.
Olympics organizers have welcomed the agreement between the two Koreas to unite athletes at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, and promised that “much more exciting initiatives” promoting Korean unity will emerge this weekend.