MACAO, Oct. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- A sports delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Tuesday appeared in Macao's Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion to attend the flag-rising ceremony after DPRK's 12-year absence to the East Asian Games, vowing to grab at least 10 gold medals during the nine-day sports gala.

    "The 4th East Asian Games will be a good opportunity to promote the exchange of culture and friendship in the region," DPRK deputy chief de mission Kim Yong-man said at his address on the ceremony.

    The DPRK delegation, including 94 athletes and 54 officials, arrived here on Tuesday afternoon to join the competitions of aquatics, athletics, basketball, football, gymnastics, karatedo, rowing, shooting, tennis, weightlifting and wushu, or Chinese martial arts.

    "The most hopeful sports are football, rowing, gymnastics and wushu," Yun Yong-bok, member of DPRK's Olympic Committee, told Xinhua.

    "It's hard to say how many medals we can get, but we promise we will perform better than last time when we attended the East Asian Games," the official added.

    In 1993, DPRK won 10 gold, 20 silver and 24 bronze medals in the inaugural games in Shanghai, finishing fourth after China, Japan and South Korea.

    There is "a high possibility" for the two Koreas to have a join match at the opening ceremony, Yun said.

    The (South) Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) told press earlier in Seoul that they had accepted the proposal by their DPRK counterpart on holding a joint march at both the opening and closing ceremonies of the coming East Asian Games.

    "We hope the games would be a stage to show harmony and peace among the peoples in the region," said Kim Yong-man.

    The two Koreas have held five joint marches in a series of international sports events since the 2000 Sydney Olympics as a gesture of national reconciliation and reunification.

    The South Korean Olympic Committee said on Monday in a press release that Pyongyang has offered to hold working-level discussions with the KOC during the East Asian Games in Macao on forming a united team to the 2006 Asian Games and 2008 Olympics.

    More than 1,900 athletes from China, DPRK, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong of China, Macao of China and Guam will attend the Oct. 29-Nov. 6 games with 234 titles up for grabs. Enditem