The South Korean delegation returned to Seoul on Friday with concrete plans to further expand inter-Korean sport exchanges. The delegation was in Pyongyang on a four-day trip to play cross-border basketball friendly matches for the first time in 15 years.

Announcing the results of the 23-minute overnight inter-Korean talks, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Friday that North Korea will send a delegation of 16 players and nine officials to an international table tennis tournament to be held in South Korea later this month.

Led by South Korean Vice Sports Minister Roh Tae-kang and his North Korean counterpart Won Kil-u, officials from the two Koreas held a session of sports talks in Pyongyang from 11:45 p.m. Thursday at the request of North Korean side, according to the ministry. 

As part of a 100-strong South Korea delegation led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, Roh had been in Pyongyang since Tuesday for four inter-Korean basketball friendlies at Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium held on Wednesday and Thursday.

During Thursday night‘s meeting, North Korea said it will send a 25-member delegation to the International Table Tennis Federation World Tour Platinum Korean Open in Daejeon from July 17-22. The North Korean delegation will be in the South from July 15-23, the ministry said.

North Korea officially informed the ITTF of the size of its delegation.

Also during the sports talks, the North said it would participate in the International Shooting Sport Federation World Shooting Championships in Changwon from Aug. 31 to Sept. 15. Pyongyang has yet to inform the ISSF of its intention to compete in the event.

On the issue of the Asian Games, the two sides agreed that the national Olympic bodies of the two Koreas will deal with matters related to joint teams at the Asian Games, according to the ministry.

The Koreas last month agreed to form joint teams for women’s basketball, rowing and dragon boat racing during the Aug. 18-Sept. 2 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.

Fielding joint teams at the upcoming Asian Games is one of the pledges South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made to broaden inter-Korean exchanges during the April 27 inter-Korean summit.

The South asked the North to schedule joint practices ahead of the Asian Games as soon as possible, the ministry said.

The unified Korean women‘s basketball team will face Taiwan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia and India at this year’s Asian Games.

As for the North Korean basketball team’s reciprocal visit to South Korea, it will be made in the fall, with the exact date yet to be decided. The officials from the Koreas agreed to continue consultations to “maintain the momentum of conciliatory mood.”

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com) and Joint Press Corps