The two torches lit in the lead-up to this year's Asian Games came together in the South Korean host city of Incheon on Wednesday, as the month-long relay got underway.

The 17th Asian Games will run from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 in Incheon, with some 13,000 athletes and officials in 36 sports to be on hand.

The Asiad's organizers lit two separate torches: one in New Delhi, India, the host of the inaugural Asian Games in 1951, last Saturday, and the other in Incheon on Tuesday. It marked the first time that a torch lighting ceremony for an Asian Games took place outside the host nation.

The torch lit in India made its way to South Korea through China, and it was joined by the South Korean torch at a ceremony held at Incheon Culture & Arts Center.

Lee Si-young, an actress serving as a goodwill ambassador for the Asian Games, kicked off the torch relay that will travel across South Korea before returning to Incheon for the opening ceremony.

This year's Asian Games will be the third in South Korea, after Seoul in 1986 and Busan in 2002. (Yonhap)