Koreas to meet IOC in February on joint Olympic bid

AFP  |  Seoul 

The two Koreas on Friday agreed to hold talks with the on their joint bid for in February, said, as a rapid diplomatic thaw takes hold on the peninsula.

Making a joint bid for the 2032 Games was part of a broader agreement made between the North's and the South's Moon Jae-in during their third summit in in September.

If it materialises, it will mark the first time for the Olympics, summer or winter, to be shared by two countries.

The two sides also agreed to form unified teams at the Tokyo Summer Paralympics in 2020, in addition to their earlier deal to jointly compete at in the same year.

They have yet to determine which Olympic sport will have North and South Koreans on the same team, but the South's said a decision will be reached in the next few weeks.

"We agreed to narrow down the to those that will see a synergy effect under cooperation between the South and North," minister said after the meeting, according to pool reports.

The two Koreas technically remain at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice instead of a peace treaty with military clashes often erupting along the frontier.

But ties improved markedly after sent athletes and top delegates -- including Kim's younger sister -- to held in the South in February, for which the two rivals also formed a joint women's team.

Kim has made a series of reconciliatory gestures since then, including a landmark summit with US in in June and three summits with Moon -- a dove who advocates dialogue with the North.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Fri, December 14 2018. 15:20 IST