South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will march together at the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympics and have promised to field a unified team at the Beijing Games in 2008, officials from the two longtime rivals said yesterday.

　　The breakthrough comes as six-nation talks open in Beijing to discuss ways of easing tensions between the nations embroiled in a standoff over the DPRK's nuclear weapons development.

　　Jo Sang Nam, head of DPRK's Olympic Committee, said there was not enough time to form a joint team before the August 13-29 Games in Athens.

　　"We make the common march between the DPRK and South Korea and then we will start more (talks) in the future for the unified team for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games," he told The Associated Press.

　　Korean athletes first marched together in 2000 under a single "unification" flag at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Games. Jo said the two countries will discuss details of the joint entrance "from June."

　　Yesterday's agreement - welcomed by International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge - was reached in Athens on the sidelines of a conference of the Association of National Olympic Committees.

　　"The IOC president has met with delegations from both the DPRK and South Korea and is delighted to confirm that they have agreed to parade together at the opening ceremony of the Athens 2004 Games," said IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies.

　　In Seoul, an official at the South Korean Olympic Committee, cautioned it will be difficult to form a unified team because approval must be given by international associations for each individual sport.

　　(The Associated Press)