Hopes for unified Korean judo team dashed over flag dispute at regional championships
Disagreement centres on how the ‘unification flag’ depicts the Korean Peninsula
At the centre of the disagreement between the teams competing on Sunday at the East Asia Judo Championship in Ulaanbaatar is how the “unification flag” depicts the Korean Peninsula.
North and South Korea have in recent months been co-operating for a series of conciliatory measures. During the Winter Olympics in February, the rival Koreas entered the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium together, under one flag, which was white with the blue peninsula in the middle.
Kim Jun Ryong, a translator and official for the North Korean judo team, said that there would be no unified team.
“Our team will wrestle under the DPRK flag because of a problem with the flag,” Kim said, using the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “The two islands are not on the flag. The organising committee tried to make us use a flag without the two islands.”
Jeon said he hoped that they could resolve this issue and try again during the judo world championship in September. “We are very excited about this,” he said.
During the 2000s, the two countries’ athletes marched together at the opening and closing ceremonies of several international sporting events, including the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The last time before February was at the Asian Winter Games in China in 2007.
Mashbat Bukhbat, general secretary of the Mongolian Judo Association, said the North Korean team had initially said they were willing to march under a unified Korean flag.
“However, they said later that they are not ready for this,” he added, citing the “global political situation and difficulties.”
On Sunday, organisers of the judo championship scrapped the teams marching altogether.