North Korea's state media Thursday reported on friendly inter-Korean basketball games held in Pyongyang, an event that the two Koreas organized for the first time in some 15 years.

The Korean Central News Agency reported that South and North Korean basketball players held two friendly games at the Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium on Wednesday.

They were matches between teams made up of a mixture of North and South Korean players. Two more games will be played Thursday.



Spectators included Choe Hwi, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea; Jon Kwang-ho, vice premier; and Ri Son-gwon, head of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country that handles inter-Korean affairs.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon also took part in the event, it reported. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was not mentioned among the attendees.

The KCNA said that the South and North Korean athletes were "warmly welcomed by spectators" when they entered the gymnasium where they played the games between the "Peace Team" and the "Prosperity Team."

The Prosperity Team won in the women's match, and the men's game ended in a tie, it added.

Two more matches scheduled for Thursday will be between South and North Korean players. No national flags and anthems are expected to be played.

This is the fourth time that the two Koreas have held friendly basketball matches. The last such games were played in October 2003.

The event was arranged after high-level officials from the two Koreas met in June to discuss sports exchanges in line with the spirit of the April 27 summit, where their leaders promised to expand cross-border exchanges and contacts.

Meanwhile, the KCNA also reported on inter-Korean talks under way on the same day at the truce village of Panmunjeom to discuss cooperation in the forestry sector, saying the two sides exchanged views on "practical issues." It did not provide details on their agreements.

Following talks that lasted late into the night, the two adopted a joint press statement in which they agreed to cooperate on protecting their forests along the inter-Korean border and other areas from damage caused by blight and harmful insects. They plan to conduct on-site inspections of those areas together in mid-July. (Yonhap)