We stay in Sweden where a scheduled women's quarter-final between South Korea and the DPRK did not happen because both teams declined to face each other and asked instead to form a joint team which would advance to the semi-finals. Su Xiaoxiao has more.

The DPRK and South Korea are united again at an international sports event. The two sides will form a 12-member joint Korean women's table tennis team. Instead of fighting against each other at the quarter-finals, they chose to march together into the semi-finals. The decision was made by DPRK, ROK and International Table Tennis Federation.

KIM SONG I DPRK TABLE TENNIS PLAYER "I still can't believe it. DPRK and ROK will join hands, and train together. We will do our best."

YANG HA-EUN ROK TABLE TENNIS PLAYER "First, we merge as a unified team. We will carefully prepare for the game. We will try hard to enter the final."

AHN JAE-HYUNG ROK WOMEN'S TABLE TENNIS TEAM COACH "Today, we prepare for what comes next. I heard the decision this morning before the match. All my players and I agreed to do this. Later in the day, we will meet with DPRK players for the next match."

The ROK-DPRK unified team will face Japan in semi-finals on Friday. DPRK's men's team has been eliminated from the games. In 1991, the DPRK and ROK united at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The united Korean women's team won the final game after beating the defending champion China. Besides joining forces in table tennis, DPRK and ROK also combined their women's hockey teams at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. Su Xiaoxiao CGTN.