At the 2012 KAIS-KF International Conference on Opening New Horizons for Public Diplomacy and Culture in the 21st Century, Ban said: "The United Nations will encourage and support the formation of the first-ever united Korean teams in South Korea.

"The Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, Mr Wilfried Lemke, is putting his utmost effort on the project."

North and South Korea marched together at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney under a "unification flag,"but plans for them to compete under the same banner at Beijing in 2008 were abandoned.

North and South Korea marched together under the same flag at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney but not did not compete together

Also referencing the Incheon 2014 Asian Games and the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, both to be hosted in Korea, Ban stressed the power of sport for building world peace and realising the UN's Millennium Development Goals.

Ban's words were well received by Gwangju 2015 who strongly support the presence of a united Korean team at the event.

The Gwangju Summer Universiade will run for 13 days, beginning in July 2015, with 20,000 athletes from 170 counties participating.

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