Two Koreas to discuss sports exchanges

The secretary general of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee Jeon Choong-ryul said, sports could work as an important stepping stone to expand inter-Korean exchanges and build peace on the Korean peninsula.

The remark was made on Monday as Jeon headed to Panmunjom for sports exchanges talks with North Korea.

"We will try to materialize the spirits and principles agreed between high-level officials between South and North Korea, with a belief that sports can act as a guide for better inter-Korean exchanges," Yonhap quoted Jeon as saying.

"As we all witnessed during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, sports gave a chance to initiate better inter-Korean relations," he added.

The five-member delegation was scheduled to meet a North Korean team headed by Vice Sports Minister Won Kil-u in Panmunjom at 10 am.

Proposed joint march and formation of unified teams for the Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, slated for August, were the agendas of the discussion.

Holding an inter-Korean basketball match that was proposed by the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his April 27 summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, was to be discussed too.

On April 27, North and South Korea agreed to sign a peace treaty formally later this year, ending the 65-year old war between the two countries.

The Korean War between the two countries took place between 1950-53 which ended with a ceasefire and signing of an armistice agreement. Technically, both the countries are still at war since no peace treaty has been signed between them.