NORTH and South Korean athletes have taken a historic selfie together despite a “surging hatred” between the two nations.
The incredible snap shows the table tennis stars smiling on top of the podium with the two countries finally united for a brief moment after decades of rising tensions.
Despite such an endearing image it come just days after North Korea claimed to feel a “surging hatred” towards their neighbours.
North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-Un has been vocal about his feelings for the South – vowing to “totally destroy” the enemy.
Kim’s closely monitored media has even accused the US and South Korea of “being hellbent on provoking a nuclear war” as issues continue to surge on the Korean border.
This disruptive relationship only makes the selfie even more iconic for many watching on from across the globe.
North Korea’s Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong and the South’s Shin Yu-bin and Lim Jong-hoon are standing proudly on the top step of the podium in the picture.
South Korea’s two athletes won bronze in the mixed doubles event on Tuesday with North Korea bagging a silver.
After having their medals placed around them, South Korea’s Lim decided to mark the heartwarming occasion by getting out his phone for a selfie.
Both sets of sporting aces can be seen with their national flags in full view on their kits as camera crews quickly snap up their own photos of the momentous moment.
Gold medallists China also joined in with the beaming picture marking a rare show of international relations.
Commentators at the time even labelled it as showcasing the “true spirit of the Olympics”.
North and South Korea are technically still at war as a peace treaty was never signed after the 1950-1953 Korean war.
A 2.5-mile wide Demilitarised Zone dividing the two countries is one of the most heavily mined places on Earth – strewn with landmines to deter enemy troops.
The latest fracture in their relationship has seen Pyongyang send a wave of 260 “filthy” faeces-filled balloons to South Korea in a bizarre intimidation move.
Kim has ordered his men to send the grim balloons across the border a whopping nine times since May.
Just days earlier, the International Olympic Committee was forced to issue an apology for a humiliating gaffe that saw them mistake South Korea for North Korea.
At the opening ceremony rain-soaked South Korean athletes waved the flag of their country as the announcers presented them as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”.
The huge blunder was made by both French and English commentators.
It drew a large number of complaints with the South Korean sports ministry vowing to lodge “a strong complaint with France on a government level”.
They sent out the “strong protest” as well as requesting a private meeting with the head of the IOC Thomas Bach.
It comes as the Olympics has already provided fans with a legendary photo of a surfer producing a celebration so epic they thought it was fake.
During Monday’s action in Teahupo’o, Tahiti – 10,000 miles away from Paris – Brazilian Gabriel Medina made history with a record score and an even better picture.
After a record breaking run, Medina guided his board up towards the crest of the wave to celebrate scoring 9.90 out of 10.
He then jumped over the top of a wave which left himself suspended in mid-air for a few seconds.
During his flight time, Medina pointed with one finger while his surfboard was left trailing behind him, with the pair seemingly floating effortlessly above the water.
TENSIONS on the Korean Peninsula have recently risen to their highest point in years - with Kim accelerating his weapons testing and South strengthening their joint war drills with the US.
In January, Kim Jong-un has scrapped any effort for reunification with Seoul.
The dictator shut down several government bodies tasked with promoting reconciliation with South Korea.
He was quoted saying: “We don’t want war but we have no intention of avoiding it.”
Kim also appeared to have blown up a major monument in North Korea’s capital that symbolised hope for unity.
The move is thought to have been a deliberate choice by the dictator, signalling his refusal to unite with his country’s “enemy”.
From the start of 2024, North Korea has tested multiple types of missile systems.
In January, the North’s military fired a new intermediate-range, solid-fuel hypersonic missile – which Washington, Seoul and Tokyo condemned as a serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
A week later, North Korea tested its nuclear underwater attack drone which is reportedly capable of sparking a “radioactive tsunami”.
The US and its Asian allies have responded by strengthening their combined military exercises – which Kim calls rehearsals for invasion.
The current South Korean government is led by president Yoon Suk Yeol, who shares hawkish view of North Korea compared to his predecessor.
He has increased efforts to collaborate with the US and Japan to combat the North’s aggressive moves in a bid to deter the war.
In turn, Kim threatened to “annihilate” Seoul if provoked and vowed to enhance his country’s ability to deliver a nuclear strike on the US and America’s allies in the Pacific.
Experts say that Kim is trying to stoke up anger by conducting more missile tests and possibly launching small-scale physical attacks on its neighbour to meddle with South Korea’ s elections in April.
