North, South Korea eye joint march, teams for Tokyo 2020

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach from Germany welcomes North Korea's Olympic Committee President and Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Kim Il Guk and South Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan, during a working meeting to discuss further sports cooperation between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as well as their bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, February 15, 2019. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool via REUTERS

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - North Korea and South Korea want a joint march at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and have requested to have some unified teams in different sports, the president of the International Olympic Committee said on Friday.

South and North Korean sports and government officials met with the IOC in Lausanne, buoyed by the role the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics played in easing tensions between the two countries, amid initial planning for a joint bid for the 2032 Olympics.

The two nations had marched together at the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang for the first time since the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. They had also fielded a unified women's ice hockey team.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach from Germany welcomes North Korea's Olympic Committee President and Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Kim Il Guk and South Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan, during a working meeting to discuss further sports cooperation between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as well as their bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, February 15, 2019. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool via REUTERS

"We are taking note that both are very much interested in having some joined actions in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 with a joined march and some unified teams in different sports," IOC President Thomas Bach said.

The IOC said the two countries had officially requested to enter joint teams in the qualifying process for four sports -- women's basketball, women's hockey, the judo mixed team event and some men's and women's rowing teams.

Among the points of discussion at the Lausanne meeting was also a potential 2032 Summer Olympics joint bid by North and South Korea, and Bach praised them for proceeding with it.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach from Germany welcomes South Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan as North Korea's Olympic Committee President and Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Kim Il Guk looks on during a working meeting to discuss further sports cooperation between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as well as their bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, February 15, 2019. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool via REUTERS

"We think this is a great symbol of the Olympic spirit. It is a great symbol again of the unifying power of the Olympic Games," Bach said.

"Sport will continue to build bridges and demonstrate the unifying power of the Olympic Games. Therefore, we warmly welcome the historic initiative of the two Koreas to put forward a joint Korean candidature for the Olympic Games 2032," he added.

Relations between the nations greatly improved last year, with South Korean President Moon Jae-in meeting his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un at three different summits.

North Korea's Olympic Committee President and Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Kim Il Guk and South Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan talk during a working meeting to discuss further sports cooperation between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as well as their bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, February 15, 2019. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool via REUTERS

North Korea has for years pursued nuclear and missile programs in defiance of U.N. sanctions but the neighbours moved to thaw relations in 2018.

"South Korea greatly hopes to jointly host the Olympic Games 2032 with North Korea, and will work to successfully bid for the Games together," Do Jong-hwan, South Korean sports and culture minister said.

North Korean Olympic Committee chief and sports minister Kim Il-guk confirmed Pyongyang's Olympic aspirations.

North Korea's Olympic Committee President and Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Kim Il Guk, speaks to South Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan, as International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, from Germany looks on during a discussion with the International Olympic Committee for their bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday, February 15, 2019. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool via REUTERS

"The leaders of the two Koreas agreed that they intended to host the Olympic Games in 2032. I am very moved and excited by the prospect of bidding together with South Korea," he said.

"We agree with the concepts put forward by South Korea, and ask for the support of President Bach and the IOC to jointly host the Olympic Games in Seoul and Pyongyang."

The IOC usually awards the Olympics seven years in advance.

South Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan speaks to International Olympic Committee (IOC) and North Korea's delegation, during a meeting with the International Olympic Committee for the bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday, February 15, 2019. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool via REUTERS

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Toby Davis)

South Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan, speaks to North Korea's Olympic Committee President and Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Kim Il Guk, as International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach from Germany looks on during a meeting with the International Olympic Committee for their bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday, February 15, 2019. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool via REUTERS

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach from Germany speaks to North Korea's and South Korean delegations during a meeting with the International Olympic Committee for their bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday, February 15, 2019. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool via REUTERS

North Korea's Olympic Committee President and Minister of Physical Culture and Sports speaks to International Olympic Committee (IOC) and North Korea's delegation, during a meeting with the IOC for the bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday, February 15, 2019. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool via REUTERS

North Korea's Olympic Committee President and Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Kim Il Guk, and South Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan speak prior a meeting with the IOC for their bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday, February 15, 2019. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool via REUTERS

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, from Germany, speaks to North Korea's and South Korean delegations, during a meeting with the IOC for the bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday, February 15, 2019. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool via REUTERS

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan, and North Korea's Olympic Committee President and Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Kim Il Guk, with their delegations pose for the photographers, prior a meeting with the IOC for their bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday, February 15, 2019. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool via REUTERS