A table tennis mixed doubles pairing with one player from North Korea and one from South Korea has become the first inter-Korea sports team to win a gold medal for almost three decades.
Jang Woo-jin from the South and Cha Hyo Sim from the North beat a Chinese team 3-1 at the Korea Open in Daejon.
The last gold medal also came in table tennis, with a women’s joint team crowned world champions in 1991.
“The cheers from the crowd gave me goosebumps,” said Jang.
“I saw Hyo Sim crying during the ceremony and it broke my heart that we have to say goodbye soon.”
Four joint teams competed at the Korea Open, with the men’s doubles team winning bronze on Friday.
It is the latest show of unity between the two nations after they entered under the same flag at the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February, following months of tension in the Korean peninsula.
In April, the South’s President Moon Jae-in held a summit with the North’s leader Kim Jong Un, during which they vowed to increase their co-operation in sport.
The countries announced recently they will field joint teams in canoeing, rowing and women’s basketball at the Asian Games in August.
