GANGNEUNG, South Korea (Reuters) — North and South Koreas reunited at a rare game between two rival North and South Korean women’s ice hockey teams in Gangneung on Thursday (April 7).
Seoul has given the North Korean women’s ice hockey team the green light on March 29 to take part in the game as the North’s athletes needed approval from Seoul to enter the South after their 1950-53 Korean War ended with a truce, not a peace treaty. The two Koreas are still at technically in a state of war.
The North athletes are visiting South Korea from April 1 to April 9 to take part in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) Women’s World Championship Division II Group A match. The delegation consists of 20 players and 10 coaches and other staffs.
The match will be used as a test event for the ice hockey at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Despite high tensions on the Korean peninsular due to the North’s missile and nuclear threat, South Korean people on Thursday cheered not only their team but also North Korean team, wishing a better relationship between the two countries. South Korea defeated North Korea 3-0.