Two Koreas to discuss sports exchanges at truce village

SEOUL, June 18 (Yonhap) -- Sports could work as an important stepping stone to expand inter-Korean exchanges and build peace on the Korean peninsula, the head of a South Korean delegation said Monday as he headed to Panmunjom for sports exchanges talks with North Korea. "We will try to materialize the spirits and principles agreed between high-level officials between South and North Korea, with a belief that sports can act as a guide for better inter-Korean exchanges," Jeon Choong-ryul, secretary general of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, told reporters in Seoul. "As we all witnessed during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, sports gave a chance to initiate better inter-Korean relations," he added. The five-member team will meet a North Korean delegation headed by Vice Sports Minister Won Kil-u at the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom at 10 a.m. Top on the agenda will be a proposed joint march and formation of unified teams for the Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, slated for August. They will also discuss holding an inter-Korean basketball match, which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proposed during his April 27 summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr (END)