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South and North Korea have agreed to dispatch two 300-strong joint cheerleader squads to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. It is the first inter-Korean agreement since the presidential election in South Korea last December voted in a conservative government. The idea was first proposed by North Korea during the inter-Korean summit last year, as revealed in confidential National Intelligence Service documents. South Korean cheerleaders will travel to Beijing by the railroad linking Seoul and the North Korean city of Sinuiju via North Korean territory.
The Unification Ministry told the presidential Transition Committee that some W25 billion (US$1=W943) will be spent on repairing the North Korean part of the Gyeongui railway. The two Koreas agreed on the size of the cheerleader squads at working-level talks in Kaesong on Monday, the ministry said. A ministry official said 150 people from each side will come together, with the first squad leaving for Beijing when the Olympics open and returning midway, when the second team takes over.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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