SEOUL, Nov 27: South and North Korean athletes will march together at the opening ceremony for the Asian Games in Qatar next month, sports officials said on Monday.

The march will be the first sign of reconciliation since the communist North staged a nuclear weapons test on Oct 9, raising tensions on the divided peninsula.

“Our side has agreed to accept the North's proposal that athletes from both sides march together for the opening ceremony,” said Korea Sports Council spokesman Kim Tae-Hyong.

The games open on Saturday.

The North's offer was made on Nov 11. It also proposed talks on fielding a unified team for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, in its first official call for dialogue since the test.

“Both sides will hold talks soon in Qatar to work out details of the joint entry for the opening ceremony and also their joint march for the closing ceremony,” Kim said. “They would also discuss a possible unified team for Beijing.”

Meanwhile, South Korea's medal hopes at the 15th Asian Games may have been dealt a blow after Doha officials confiscated their national dish from team members at the athletes village.

A Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) official said organisers had banned food from being taken into the village but that the regulation was usually overlooked for traditional items such as Korea's spicy national dish, kimchi, Yonhap News agency reported.A member of the KOC was held by police for two hours after protesting the measure, the official added.

Typically radish or cabbage packed with ginger, garlic and hot peppers and then pickled, kimchi is eaten with most meals in South Korea.

“Technically no food can be taken into the village, yet it has been customary to overlook this ban for certain traditional food,” the KOC official said.

“Security at the village...confiscated instant noodles, kimchi, anchovies, dried laver and other foods and beverages that South Korean athletes wanted to take into the village,” he added.

While Korean food is provided in the athletes village, it is typically in short supply. The KOC said the lack of kimchi and other traditional food might hamper the athletes performance.

—Agencies