The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) made the announcement after a delegation from both parties met at the headquarters of the Jakarta Palembang 2018 Organising Committee (INASGOC).

The Koreas will compete in unified teams in basketball, dragon boat racing and rowing.

Specifically, the events in which they will field joint teams are women's 5x5 basketball, men's and women's dragon boat racing and three rowing disciplines - the lightweight men's four, lightweight men's eight and lightweight women's double sculls.

"This will be an historic Asian Games for the Olympic Council of Asia and for the continent because it will be the first time that North Korea and South Korea will form a unified team in certain sports," Vinod Kumar Tiwari, the OCA’s director of international and National Olympic Committee relations, said.

"They have marched together before in the Opening Ceremony and we are delighted that they are extending their joint cooperation further in the spirit of unity and friendship.

"We would like to thank the two National Olympic Committees from South Korea and North Korea for coming to Jakarta and putting forward their proposals on the joint teams.

"We would also like to thank INASGOC for their support.”

As well as fielding joint teams, the Koreas have already announced they will march under a unified flag at the Opening Ceremony on August 18.

It will be the 11th time they have done so at a major event. 

Today's announcement follows a series of recent sporting events in which the Koreas have come together.

The two sides also marched together at the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, where a joint women's ice hockey team was fielded.

That marked the first time two different nations have competed together in an Olympic Games. 

Last month the Koreas refused to play each other when they were both drawn in the same quarter-final of the International Table Tennis Federation World Championships.

Instead they formed a joint team for the semi-final which they then lost to Japan. 

Then last week (June 22), both sides met up in Lausanne to take part in a friendly table tennis tournament to celebrate Olympic Day. 

For the Asian Games, the final deadline for the National Olympic Committees (NOC) to submit their teams is June 30, but after this morning's meetings that deadline has been extended for the joint Korean teams, to July 10.

The 18th Asian Games is due to take place until September 2 in Jakarta and Palembang with 40 sports, 67 disciplines and 463 events on the schedule. 

About 10,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions will take part.

Women’s basketball is scheduled to take place at the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Senayan in Jakarta, while the dragon boat and rowing will be in Palembang.