South and North Korea will parade together in the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Athens next month, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Friday.

The IOC confirmed in a statement the two countries' plans to repeat in the August 13 ceremony the march they first made under the same flag at the 2000 Games in Sydney.

"This joint march will be one of the highlights of the opening ceremony of the Athens Games in a few weeks' time," IOC President Jacques Rogge said.

"It shows that sport can unite and promote peace. It is wonderful to see the two NOCs (national Olympic committees) putting the Olympic values into practice in such a demonstrable way."