Koreas begin basketball friendlies

The two Koreas have got together for a men's and women's basketball series in Pyongyang.

basketball korea

South and North Korean players met in Pyongyang for a basketball match. (AAP)

The rival Koreas on Wednesday began two days of friendly basketball games in Pyongyang in their latest goodwill gesture amid a diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear standoff with North Korea.

Players from North and South Korea were mixed into two teams that competed against each other at the North Korean capital's Ryugyong Jong Ju Yong Gymnasium.

A capacity crowd of 12,000 at the arena applauded as the two women's teams - dressed in white jerseys that read "Peace" and green jerseys that read "Prosperity" - marched onto the court holding hands.

Team Prosperity defeated Team Peace 103-102, with North Korea's Ro Suk Yong scoring 18 points, according to pool reports. The game between the men's mixed teams that followed ended in a 102-102 tie.

The South Koreans will play against the North Korean men's and women's teams on Thursday before returning home on Friday.

The games precede a visit to North Korea by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for meetings over the future of the North's nuclear program.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a noted basketball fan, didn't appear at the gymnasium on Wednesday. It wasn't clear whether he would attend on Thursday.


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Source: AAP


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