The Olympic Council of Asia will meet with representatives from the National Olympic Committees of Korea and DPR Korea in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, June 28 to discuss joint participation in the 18th Asian Games.
The two Koreas have already agreed to march together in the Opening Ceremony on August 18 behind the Unification Flag, and the discussions will now focus on the possibility of unified Korean teams in certain sports.
The meeting on Thursday follows discussions between the President of the OCA, HE Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, with the two NOCs in Lausanne, Switzerland, on June 23.
The OCA will be represented by Mr Vinod Kumar Tiwari, Director of International and NOC Relations, who said: âThe OCA is looking forward to meeting with the representatives of the NOCs of Korea and DPR Korea and discussing the next step of this joint cooperation.
âIt is very exciting times on the Korean Peninsula and sport is playing a major role in bringing the two Koreas together in an environment of peace and understanding. We hope that this cooperation will grow stronger in the build-up to the 18th Asian Games and lead to a truly memorable and historic event.â
The 18th Asian Games will be held in Jakarta and Palembang, capital of South Sumatra province, from August 18 to September 2, 2018, with 10,000 athletes from the OCAâs 45 member NOCs. There will be 40 sports and 67 disciplines.
The joint march by athletes will be the 11th time the two Koreas have marched together in an opening ceremony parade of a multi-sport games. The first was at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and the most recent at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Korea, last February. They also included the Asian Games in Busan, Korea, in 2002 and in Doha, Qatar in 2006.
The PyeongChang Winter Olympics was ground-breaking, however, because the two Koreas played as a unified team in the womenâs ice hockey competition. This was the first time they had competed together in a multi-sport event, and the OCA is now preparing for joint teams in certain sports at Jakarta and Palembang.
âThe South Koreans have an idea of how many sports could feature a joint team, and we need to discuss this with North Korea,â added Mr Tiwari.
âThe discussions will be a four-way process, also including the Asian Games organising committee INASGOC, and we hope to decide everything on Thursday because there is not a lot of time left.â
The OCA has supported the joint participation, but insisted that no extra places would be allowed in the case of unified Korean teams.
The delegation from the Korea Sport & Olympic Committee from Seoul will comprise Mr. Jeon Choong Ryul, Secretary General; Mr. Park Chul Keun, Director General; and Mr. Kim Won Pung, Manager.
The DPR Korea Olympic Committee will be represented by Mr Won Kil U, Vice President; Mr Han Sang Chul, Member; and Mr O Chol Min, Executive Secretary.
