A group of laborers and civic group members in Incheon has launched a committee to realize a soccer match between the laborers of the two Koreas.
 
The committee announced at a launching ceremony on Tuesday that it will seek to hold the inter-Korean unification soccer match in Seoul on August 15th when the nation will mark Independence Day.
 
The committee, made up of some 30 organizations based in Incheon, said that South-North ties have currently shattered and military tensions between the North and the U.S. are heading toward the worst state. The committee said that amid such conditions, inter-Korean dialogue and communication through private-level exchanges are urgently needed.
 
The committee stressed that the soccer match will play the role of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and of providing a breakthrough for peaceful exchanges.
 
Three South and North Korean labor organizations, including the South’s Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, organized a unification soccer tournament in Pyongyang last year and agreed to hold another match this year in Seoul.
 
The two South Korean organizations sought the Unification Ministry’s approval to hold working-level talks with the North this January on preparing the match but their request was denied.
 
The government denied the request, saying it is inappropriate to hold private-level exchanges while the North continues to engage in provocations and threats.