The South Korean government has decided to accept North Korea's recent offer to form a joint delegation for the opening ceremony of this year's Asian Games in Doha, a Unification Ministry official said Wednesday.
The decision follows Pyongyang's proposal last Thursday to hold talks in the capital of Qatar ahead of the regional sporting event, set to begin at the beginning of next month.
"There was no reason to reject the proposed talks, which have nothing to do with the North's nuclear test," a ministry official said.
The divided Koreas have sent seven joint delegations to opening or closing ceremonies of various sporting events since the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games, but they have yet to field a unified team for any international events.
One of the agenda items proposed by the communist state for the upcoming talks in Doha is the formation of a joint team for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Seoul has yet to make any final decision on the issue, which has been the main topic of dialogue between the countries' Olympic officials in recent years, the ministry official said.
A delegation consisting of government officials and Korean Olympic Committee officials was to be dispatched to Doha, but the dates for the sports talks there have yet to be set.
The relationship between the Koreas significantly warmed following a 2000 summit of their leaders in Pyongyang, but the countries remain technically in a state of war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended only with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Seoul, Nov. 22 (Yonhap News)
Gov't agrees to hold talks with N.K. on joint delegation for Asian Games ceremony |
