BEIJING, Aug 6: The IOC will wait until the last minute to facilitate a joint march of the two Koreas during the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday.

The IOC was ready to accommodate them should the two nations, technically still at war, decide to march together as they did in 2000 and 2004, IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli said on Wednesday.

“For me [they can decide] at the last minute,” Felli said. “They decide, the flags are ready and they can march together.”

South Korea and North Korea are technically still at war having ended their conflict in 1953 with no peace agreement.

While they have marched together in the past, plans to take reconciliation a step further with a joint team initially failed over selection.—Reuters