Skeptic Review

Photo courtesy KCNA.

PYONGYANG/SEOUL, July 4 (Joint Press Corps-Yonhap) — South and North Korean basketball players played two friendly matches in Pyongyang on Wednesday amid a thaw in inter-Korean relations.

The games were played in the afternoon at Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium between a “peace” team and a “prosperity” team made up of a mixture of North and South Korean players. The women’s teams played first followed by the men’s. They were part of four planned games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

The women’s “prosperity” team managed to win 103-102. Ro Suk-yong of the North was key to the victory, scoring 18 points.

The men’s game was tied at 102-102. With less than a second left on the clock, North Korea’s Choe Sung-ho hit a game-tying three-pointer for the “prosperity” team. Another North Korean Won Yun-sik, meanwhile, had the game-high 17 points for “peace” team.

This is the fourth time that the two Koreas have held friendly basketball matches. The last such games were played in October 2003.

The event was arranged after high-level officials from the two Koreas met in June to discuss sports exchanges in line with the spirit of the April 27 summit, where their leaders promised to expand cross-border exchanges and contacts.

Inter-Korean relations have been thawing since early this year when the North sent athletes to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics hosted by the South.

The rapprochement led to summit meetings between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in April and May.

The North’s leader, known to be an avid fan of basketball, was not seen at the gymnasium. It is unclear whether he will attend the other planned matches.

The delegation is to return home on Friday.