Koreas to field first-ever joint teams for Paralympic event

Unified Korea’s flagbearer Lim Yunghui leads the delegation during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games at the Gelora Bung Karno main stadium in Jakarta on August 18, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY

North and South Korea have agreed to march under a neutral Korean peninsula flag and form unified teams for some sports at the upcoming Asian Para Games.

“This is the first time the two countries have paraded together and competed together at a para-sport event,” Majid Rashed, chairman of the Asian Paralympic Committee, said in a statement posted Sunday.

About 100 athletes from South Korea and 20 from North Korea will compete at the multi-sport event in the Indonesian capital Jakarta between October 6-13.
Flag-bearers from each country will carry a Korean unification flag and competitors will wear the same uniforms at the opening and closing ceremonies, the statement said.

The two countries, still technically at war, will field two joint table tennis teams and a mixed team in a men’s 4×100 metre swimming relay event.

North and South Korea formed unified teams for some events at the Asian Games in Jakarta and in Palembang from August 18-September 2, securing one gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

Earlier this month the two countries announced a joint bid for the 2032 Olympics, in a deepening sign of rapprochement on the peninsula.

Some 3,000 athletes from 43 countries are expected to take part in 15 Paralympic and three non-Paralympic sports during next month’s event.