The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Seoul

Reclusive North Korea has confirmed it will host a leg of the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch relay, state media reported.

North Korea and China signed a formal agreement in Pyongyang on Saturday to allow the torch to pass through the nation's capital on April 28, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said in a report late Saturday.

The torch will move through Seoul on April 27 before travelling over the heavily fortified border to North Korea, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said, quoting Chinese officials.

The two Koreas have agreed to send a joint cheering squad to the Beijing Olympics by train, as part of their reconciliation efforts after their bloody 1950-1953 civil war.