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South Korea Extends Ping-Pong Invitation to Pyongyang

Kelly Kasulis

   SEOUL - South Korea has invited North Korean athletes to a game of
   Ping-Pong in Busan next year.

   The Korea Table Tennis Association (KTTA) says it sent the invitation
   all the way to Pyongyang through the International Table Tennis
   Federation (ITTF), which is holding the World Team Table Tennis
   Championship from March 22 to March 29 next year. The KTTA is also
   considering the idea of creating a joint Korean team.

   So far, no official response from North Korea has been made public, but
   analysts say the invitation is South Korea's latest attempt at
   maintaining momentum in inter-Korean relations.

   "South Korea's approach is to engage on all fronts while upholding
   economic sanctions on North Korea that endure for lack of
   denuclearization," Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in
   Seoul, wrote in an email to VOA News. "Sports diplomacy is a useful
   tool, but Ping-Pong alone is unlikely to make a breakthrough with
   Pyongyang."

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