Indonesian President invites leaders of two Koreas to ASIAD opening hinh anh 1Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Source: EPA/VNA)

Jakarta (VNA)
– Indonesian President Joko Widodo has invited Democratic People Republic's of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong-un and President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in to attend the opening of the Asian Games (ASIAD 2018) in August.

The invitation came on July 18 as the two Koreas agreed to have their athletes parade together during the event’s opening ceremony.

Indonesian Secretary of State Pramono Anung praised the joint parade, saying that it will be a centre of attention for the world as the Games can bring the two Koreas closer, contributing to world peace.

Leaders of 26 countries will be present at the ASIAD opening ceremony, according to national police chief General Tito Karnavian.

Close to 25,000 athletes and officials from 45 countries and territories will arrive in Indonesia for the tournament, which is set to be held from August 18 to September 2 in Jakarta and Palembang, he added.

The same day, the Olympic Council of Asia affirmed that the two Koreas will jointly compete in three sports during the Games for the first time in history to further demonstrate the power of sport to unite.

Earlier, the DPRK and the RoK had agreed to field joint teams to compete in women’s basketball, canoeing and rowing.

The two sides played in a joint ice hockey team for the first time at the Winter Olympics (PyeongChang 2018) in the RoK in February, but have never competed as a team in any ASIAD before.-VNA
VNA