South Korea’s national anthem was heard in North Korea for the first time over the weekend, after Kim Woo Sik and Lee Yong Gun won gold and silver medals in the Men’s Junior 85kg category at the 2013 Asia Cup and Inter Club Weightlifting Championship, held at Ryugyong Chung Ju Yung Gymnasium in Pyongyang.
The national anthem was played in front of the North Korean audience as two South Korean flags were raised during the award ceremony. The South Korean flag had already been raised once, after Kwon Yae Bin won bronze on the 13th in the Women’s Junior 69kg category.
In another unprecedented display, South Korean athletes carried their national flag into the arena during the official opening ceremony on Thursday.
South Korean athletes have taken part in sports events in North Korea several times over the years, but these games mark the first time the official term “Republic of Korea” has been permitted. North Korea had previously forbidden the raising of the South Korean flag and broadcast of the national anthem within its borders.
In September 2008, a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between North and South Korea was moved from Pyongyang to Shanghai after North Korea expressed its opposition to the presence of the South Korean flag on its soil.
