DPRK to send athletes to ROK-hosted sports competitions

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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has agreed with Republic of Korea (ROK) to dispatch its athletic delegations to the ROK-hosted table tennis and shooting competitions later this year, according to a pool report released Friday by Seoul's sports ministry.

The ROK's Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Roh Tae-kang held the overnight session of sports talks in Pyongyang with his DPRK counterpart Won Kil-u.

The talks, which started at about 11:50 p.m. Thursday (1450 GMT), had lasted for more than an hour at the request of the DPRK side to discuss inter-Korean sports cooperation.

The ROK and DRPK's sports officials hold talks at the Koryo Hotel in Pyongyang on July 5, 2018. /VCG Photo

The ROK's vice minister had stayed in Pyongyang since Tuesday for a series of friendly basketball matches between players of the two Koreas from Wednesday to Thursday.

The DPRK agreed to send 16 table tennis players and nine other officials to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Platinum Korean Open scheduled for July 17-22 in Daejeon, 160 km south of the capital Seoul.

The DPRK delegation would arrive in the ROK on July 15 and leave the southern country on July 23.

A separate DPRK sports delegation, composed of 21 shooters and supporting staff, will be sent to the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Shooting Championships slated to kick off in August in Changwon, 400 km southeast of Seoul.

The DPRK's shooting delegation would arrive in the ROK on Aug. 31 and leave the country on Sept. 15.

Mixed teams of the DPRK and the ROK's basketball players take part during an inter-Korean basketball match at Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium on July 5, 2018 in Pyongyang, DPRK. /VCG Photo

The two sides also agreed to hold a friendly basketball match between players of the two Koreas this autumn.

Seoul and Pyongyang had agreed to let their athletes march together during the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, agreeing to field joint teams for women's basketball, canoeing and rowing.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency