THE SIDELINES : Korean ‘Soccer Diplomacy’
The first South Korean men’s and women’s soccer teams ever to visit North Korea arrived in Pyongyang today from Beijing, North Korean official media reported.
The Korean Central News Agency, monitored in Tokyo, said thousands of people warmly welcomed the visitors at the airport.
The two sides’ agreement on a soccer exchange, seen as an extension of increased contact and dialogue, followed talks between their sports ministers at the Asian Games in Beijing. It gave rise to talk of “soccer diplomacy” between the longtime bitter rivals.
Since the division of the Korean peninsula in 1945, athletic teams from the two sides have met at international competitions in third countries, but never crossed to the other side in direct exchanges.
The news agency said the South Koreans were met at the airport by Kim Yu Sun, chairman of the North Korean Olympic Committee.
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