Koreas to Unite for Table Tennis, Soccer Competition

PANMUNJOM, Korea — North and South Korea agreed Tuesday to unite for two international sports championships, marking the first time in 45 years the rival nations will play on the same side.

Delegates representing the two nations agreed to field a single Korean team for the 41st World Table Tennis Championships in Japan in April and for the World Youth Soccer Championship in Portugal in June.

Communist North Korea's chief delegate, Kim Hyung Jin, called the agreement "epochal."

The Koreas have been divided since 1945. They held inter-Korea soccer competitions in October.