IOC confirms Koreas to march together in Athens

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) _ North and South Korea will march together at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens next month, the IOC confirmed Friday. <br/><br/>``It shows that sport can unite

Friday, July 2nd 2004, 11:17 am

By: News On 6

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) _ North and South Korea will march together at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens next month, the IOC confirmed Friday.

``It shows that sport can unite and promote peace,'' Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, said in a statement. ``It is wonderful to see the two national Olympic committees putting the Olympic values into practice in such a demonstrable way.''

The two Koreas said already in February that they wanted to march under the same flag, as they did in Sydney in 2000. The teams will enter together behind a flag depicting the entire Korean Peninsula.

They hope to field a unified team for the 2008 Games in Beijing, China.

``This joint march will be one of the highlights of the opening ceremony,'' Rogge said.

The summer Olympics will be held Aug. 13-29.