For North and South Korea, the Asian Games that opened on Sunday in the South Korean port city of Pusan are not only an arena of competition, but also an opportunity for reconciliation. Following an earlier decision by Pyongyang to join the games, their teams paraded together under a single flag at the opening ceremony. Moreover, the sacred torch was carried from a holy mountain summit in the North that is revered by all Koreans.

These symbolic moves will reinforce the impression, both at home and abroad, that the two Koreas, still technically at war, are moving toward rapprochement. The North has sent a 660-member delegation (including supporters) to the games, the largest group of North Koreans to visit the South since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Many expect that friendly exchanges between North and South Koreans, including residents of Pusan, will give a fresh impetus to inter-Korean dialogue.

Such optimism is not warranted, however. One need only recall what has happened, or failed to happen, since the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. At that time Olympic teams from the North and South also staged a joint parade under a unified flag, raising new hopes for detente. Two years on, inter-Korean relations seem essentially unchanged, although signs of a thaw are increasing again.