The two Koreas lost their first match – the semi-finals against Japan – at the table tennis world championships on Friday after the nations decided not to compete against each other in the quarter-finals.

The decision to allow North and South Korea to field a unified team for the semi-finals in Halmstad, Sweden was announced on Thursday.

It was a tripartite agreement between the leaders of the North and South Korean Table Tennis teams and the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

The last time that a unified Korea team played the world table tennis championships was 1991 in Chiba, Japan, where the women’s team shocked defending champions China to win the gold medal.

North Korean player Kim Song I said she would happily join a unified team in the future.

The move follows the North and South Korean leaders’ pledge to work for “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean peninsula last week.

The two Koreas had earlier this year joined forces to field a combined women’s ice hockey team at the Pyeongchang Winter Games after they marched together for the opening ceremony.