North Korean team welcomed to Asian Games village at Incheon in the South
Members of North Korea’s 273-strong delegation were greeted at a flag raising ceremony for the Asian Games in the South Korean city of Incheon one day before competition commences
The proper flag was raised, there were smiles for the South Korean break dancers on stage and gifts were warmly exchanged as North Korea’s team was officially welcomed into the athlete’s village at the Asian Games after a series of controversies that nearly prevented their trip.
The ceremony took place at Incheon on Thursday for members of North Korea’s 273-strong delegation to the regional mini-Olympics being hosted this year by rival South Korea.
The mere presence of the North Korean team is politically fraught – animosity is high between the Koreas, which are separated by the world’s most heavily armed border and are technically in a state of war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Conspicuously absent from the event are North Korea’s colourful cheerleading squad, which is made up mostly of women who are trained to dance and sing in unison in support of the nation’s athletes. The cheerleaders have been a big hit abroad – and are particularly popular with South Korean spectators – but Pyongyang decided not to send them because it said Seoul handled discussions about the topic with hostility.
According to South Korean reports, Seoul balked at covering their expenses.
Flags had also been a major obstacle – though the Asian Games organisers made sure on Thursday there would be no repeat of the London Olympics, when organisers raised the South Korean flag for a North Korean women’s soccer match, prompting the North Korean team to walk off the pitch.