North and South Korea are planning to compete as one nation in swimming and table tennis at the upcoming 2018 Asian Para Games next month, Yonhap News reported Wednesday.
The decision will be final once the Asian Paralympic Committee decides which athletes to enter, according to Korea Paralympic Commitee chief Lee Myung-ho.
The nations will also have a joint parade in the opening ceremonies, which take place on October 8th. In preparation for the Games, athletes from the South and the North trained together in Beijing from September 3rd through 6th.
The event would mark the first time that the Koreas compete together in a para-sport competition, however, the two had joint teams in women’s basketball, rowing, and canoeing at the 2018 Asian Games last month Indonesia.
They also sent shared a women’s ice hockey team at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
The announcement came shortly after South Korean President Moon Jae In announced following a summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that the two nations would be putting in a joint bid for the 2032 Olympic Games, and competing in some international competitions (including the 2020 Olympics) as one.
Having a joint Korean table tennis team is a very positive step. Perhaps this will lead to greater joint activities between the two Koreas. I was a student at Stanford in 1971 and watched when the Chinese table tennis team came there to play. It was history in the making and very exciting. They called it “Table Tennis Diplomacy,” and this thaw in relations between China and the US led to Nixon going to China a few months later in early 1972 to re-establish relations. Hope this bodes well for the Koreas!