South and North Korean basketball players played two friendly matches in Pyongyang on Wednesday as part of inter-Korean sports exchanges fulfilled in the spirit of the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration.

The games -- part of four matches scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday -- were played at Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium in the afternoon, contested between “peace” teams and “prosperity” teams made up of players from the two Koreas.

Chung Ju-yung is the late founder of the Hyundai Group that ran a number of inter-Korean businesses, including a resort on the North’s Kumgangsan. All projects are currently suspended.

Wednesday’s matches were attended by a number of high-level North Korean officials including Choe Hwi, chairman of the National Sports Guidance Committee, and Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country.

South Korea‘s Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, who is leading a delegation of 100 South Korean athletes, coaches, staff members and journalists, also watched the games.

Cho told the athletes and spectators filling the 12,000-seat venue that he hoped inter-Korean sports exchanges would increase and help the two Koreas’ reconciliation and cooperation.

“Through the Panmunjom Declaration adopted by our two leaders on April 27, the South and the North have paved the way for new peace and prosperity,” he said, referring to the historic joint declaration announced by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un.

Noting that inter-Korean sports exchanges were a key part of the agreement, he added, “In particular, I believe that this basketball event would expand and advance sports exchanges and greatly contribute to the reconciliation and unity of our people.”

In the women’s game, which preceded the men's, the “prosperity” team won 103-102, with the North’s Ro Suk-yong playing brilliantly to score 18 points.

The men’s game was tied at 102-102. With less than a second before the end, North Korea’s Choe Sung-ho scored a game-tying three-pointer for the “prosperity” team. Another North Korean player Won Yun-sik scored 17 points for “peace” team.

This is the fourth time that the two Koreas have held friendly basketball matches. The last such games were played in October 2003.

The inter-Korean basketball friendlies started in 1999, when two events were held in Seoul and Pyongyang. Although the two sides had agreed to hold the event on an annual basis, the games were discontinued after the third event held in Pyongyang in 2003. 

For this year’s event a 101-member delegation led by Minister of Unification Cho Myoung-gyon arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday.

The South Korean team is led by coach Hur Jae, who had played in the 2003 inter-Korean basketball game.

“(I) am back here at the gymnasium after 15 years. Like the first time, (I) feel tense,” Hur said after a training session Wednesday. He added that North Korean athletes he had gotten to know seem to be in high-level posts.

Along with Cho, three government officials and Korean Sport and Olympic Committee President Lee Kee-heung are leading the delegation, which includes 30 members of the media as well as support staff.

On the first day of the four-day trip, the North hosted a welcome dinner.

“Sports exchange has towed reconciliation and peace on the Korean Peninsula at every important juncture in inter-Korean relations,” Cho said at the dinner, going on to express hopes for further inter-Korean sporting events in a wider range of sports.

At the dinner, Kim Il-guk, North Korean sports minister, said that the basketball event would lay the groundwork for further sports exchange between the Koreas and improving relations.

According to reports, a North Korean official stated that the welcome event held on the first day of the South Korean delegation’s visit is a reflection of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s will and the good atmosphere among the leadership regarding the event.

While only the basketball-related schedule has been confirmed, it is widely speculated that Cho is likely to meet with high-level North Korean officials including Ri Son-gwon during the trip.

Before the delegation set out from Seoul, a Unification Ministry official told reporters that playing basketball would not be the sole objective of the event.

By Choi He-suk and Joint Press Corps (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)