The boats were named during a launching ceremony at Chungju Tangeum Lake International Rowing Centre attended by athletes and officials from both Koreas.

The men’s boat has been named Taedong after the North Korean river, while the women’s boat has been called Hangang, after the Han river that flows through Seoul.

Dragon boat racing is one of three sports in which the two Koreas will compete together.

Three versus three basketball and rowing are the other two.

Six South Koreans and six North Koreans will make up each of the men’s and women’s teams in the dragon boat racing, a total of 24 athletes.

The two Koreas have never competed together at an Asian Games before, though this is just the latest of a series of developments in 2018, which has seen them compete together in women’s ice hockey at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang earlier this year and several times in international table tennis tournaments.

Kim Yong-bin, head of South Korea’s Canoe Federation (KCF), claimed having a joint team at the Asian Games gives the event extra significance.

"Starting with these Asian Games, we'll continue to push for unified Korean teams at future events and contribute to better inter-Korean relations," he said.

His statement follows a recent announcement from the International Canoe Federation (ICF) vice-president Thomas Konietzko, who said earlier this month that discussions are underway for a joint Korean team at the Dragon Boat World Championships in September, due to take place in Atlanta in the United States.

"My discussions with members of the DPRK Canoe Federation were very positive, and I left impressed by their enthusiasm and their vision for the future," Konietzko said.

"The International Canoe Federation will work with both Korean Federations to ensure these exciting projects come to fruition."

 A joint Korean team has never participated in any sport on US soil before.