S. Korean officials, athletes to leave for N. Korea for inter-Korean basketball matches

SEOUL, July 2 (Yonhap) -- A delegation of South Korean officials, athletes and media people will leave for North Korea this week to participate in inter-Korean basketball matches in Pyongyang, a unification ministry official said Monday.

The 100-member delegation will depart for North Korea at 10 a.m. on Tuesday on two military airplanes flying from an airport in Seongnam, south of Seoul, according to the official.

The delegation will be led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and will consist of around 50 basketball players, 30 media people and other staff members.

The government considered transporting the delegation using civilian planes but chose the military aircraft instead in consideration of time restraints and sanctions imposed on the North, the official said.

The two Koreas plan to hold four basketball matches in Pyongyang on Wednesday and Thursday. The matches were arranged as a follow up to the agreement reached during working-level talks on sports exchanges in mid-June.

During the talks, they also agreed to march under a unified flag in the opening and closing ceremonies of the upcoming Asian Games and field joint teams for some sports.

kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)