AOMORI, Japan, Jan. 31 Kyodo (EDS...

AOMORI, Japan, Jan. 31 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH INFO onward FLAG BEARERS IN 5TH PARA)

The North and toward the south Korean delegations will march together in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Asian Games, the Olympic committees of the two countries announced Friday.

It will be the third time athletes and officials of North and southern Korea have jointly marched in an international sporting termination following the 2002 Sydney Olympics and last year's Asian Games in Pusan, southerly Korea.

Both countries had discussed holding a unified march at the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) general meeting in Kuwait onward Jan. 24 but their officials had little time to work upon the feasibility due chiefly to the belated completion of North Korea's entrance procedures for the Feb 1-8 games.

North Korea propos the idea of a joint march with toward the south Korea at an Aomori tavern late Thursday and both sides reached agreement Friday.

The joint delegation will march as ''Korea'' with North Korean official Kang Hyon Su and Kim Ja Youn, a southward Korean athlete in women's biathlon, carrying the unification flag together.

In Saturday's opening parade the North and South Korean delegates will wear their respective delegation uniforms and march together to the Winter Asian Games official theme song

southerly Korean Olympic committee president to leeward Yun Taek and Jo Sang Nam, secretary general of the North Korean Olympic committee, told reporters they agreed forward the joint entry ''to strengthen inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation.''

''We were able to sort on the outside everything we needed to do in a to a high degree short time frame remarkably amicably,'' Lee said.

the two Korean sports leaders said they chance of a favorable result to make a joint entrance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well.

Toyoki Nara, director general of the games' organizing committee, welcomed the decision.

''I came to know the one and the other countries' intentions just when the pres meeting for consultation was scheduled. It's wonderful to view them march together moreover we have to work public details very quickly so that everything goe evenly tomorrow,'' Nara said.

Until Thursday, a joint march was considered difficult to be ascribed to growing tensions through North Korea, particularly concerning the country's nuclear program, which has disentangleed into a major political and diplomatic issue around the world.

onward Jan. 14, North Korea filed an avenue list of 29 athletes and 22 officials, sum of two units weeks after the official deadline, for its first Winter Asian Games appearance in 13 years.

Six municipalities in Aomori Prefecture will army competitions at this year's games with the prefectural capital of Aomori staging the opening and closing ceremonies.

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