South and North Korea to form unified teams for 4 events at 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Posted on : 2019-02-16 16:50 KST Modified on : 2019-02-16 16:50 KST
Agreement reached during trilateral meeting with IOC president in Switzerland
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach (center) gives at briefing at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach (center) gives at briefing at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne

South and North Korea finalized a decision to field unified teams in four events at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (July 24–Aug. 9): women’s basketball, women’s field hockey, rowing, and judo.

South Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-hwan and North Korean Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Kim Il-guk reached a final agreement on the events at a three-way meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne on Feb. 15, the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) said.

The decision means unified inter-Korean teams will be organized for the second time at the Olympics, following the historic first competition by a unified team in women’s ice hockey at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. South and North Korea also fielded unified teams in three events – women’s basketball, canoeing, and rowing – at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta/Palembang in Aug. 2018.

The two sides are currently working to establish competition quotas with their unified teams from the Olympic qualifying stages, with joint training to begin shortly. In women’s basketball, the two sides will be competing together with a unified team for the second time after the Asian Games last year. That unified team won a silver medal at the Asian Games thanks to the strong coordination between South Korean player Park Ji-su (Kookmin Bank) and North Korean player Ro Suk-yong.

An agreement to organize a unified women’s field hockey team was previously reached during an International Hockey Federation (FIH) congress last November. The two sides plan to compete as a unified team from the Olympic qualifying stages.

By Kim Kyung-moo, senior staff writer

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