 A team of North Korean cheerleaders arrive in South Korea for the 2005 Asian Games. | Image: Yonhap |
North Korea has
announced plans to dispatch a cheering squad to the Incheon Asian Games, which are to be
held in the South Korean port city this September.
The
state-run Chosun Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on the 7th, “We have decided to send a
cheering squad to the 17th Asian Games in Incheon for the improvement of North-South relations and to
create an atmosphere of unity.”
“Our
thoughtful measures will thaw relations on the divided Korean Peninsula through
national reconciliation and display the two Koreas’ commitment to unification to
the world,” it emphasized.
Pyongyang last sent a cheering squad to South Korea for the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships, which were also held in Incheon. Similar squads were also sent to the 2002 Asian Games in the city of Busan, and 2003 Summer Universiade in Daegu.
Seoul
has agreed to facilitate this latest squad’s entry into South Korea.
Whilst
making the announcement, the North also called for improved North-South
relations and the lifting of sanctions imposed after the sinking of a South
Korean naval vessel in March 2010.
It said, “The North and South should end mutual hostilities and
slander in order to open up the road for reconciliation and unity.” It further called for the implementation of the inter-Korean summit agreements of 2000 and
2007.
It also urged South Korea to cease dialogue with the international community on
nuclear matters, and declared the need for a unification policy that “the
people” support. It explicitly foreswore President Park’s Dresden Declaration.
The North usually embarks on a round of nominally conciliatory rhetoric at this time of year, because it is said that the day before he passed away on July 8th, 1994, Kim Il Sung signed a document outlining his desire for unification on the Korean Peninsula. This is often used as the backdrop to this type of media output.
The
North announced on May 23rd that it would be sending a team of athletes to the Asian Games, making it the second country to declare its intention to participate.
