North and South Korean gymnasts competing at the Rio Olympics posed for a selfie together
© ReutersA divided nation now has a selfie to add to its hopes of reunification.
In the late 1990s, warmer relations between the divided north and south led to reunions between families and raised hopes for reunification.

North and South Korean gymnasts competing at the Rio Olympics posed for a selfie together Sunday night, in a poignant moment bringing to mind the 2000 Sydney Olympics when the divided nation marched together under one flag symbolizing the desire for reunification.

North Korea's Hong Un-jong and South Korea's Lee Eun-ju posed for the photo together on Eun-ju´s phone during their training sessions.

Un-jong won gold for North Korea at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, while Eun-ju is attending her first Olympic games for South Korea.

The photos went viral and overjoyed both North and South Koreans, who have centuries of traditional and familial ties that were broken more than 60 years ago when a geographic division was imposed by the U.S. war of 1950-1953 against the communist aspirations of the Korean people.

Because there was no peace treaty after the U.S.-imposed war, the partitioned country is still technically at war, with the U.S. still occupying land on several bases within South Korean side of the border with almost 30,000 troops, making it the most heavily armed border in the world.

In the southern Republic of Korea, praising the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is illegal. Travel and communication with the DPRK is restricted, with special laws in place on how to interact with North Koreans.

Lee Eun-ju will be required to provide an account of what happened between the two gymnasts to the South Korean Olympic Committee, who will then be required to pass it on to the South Korean Unification Ministry within seven days, according to the Associated Press.

During the liberal administration of Kim Dae-jung in the late 90s, the Sunshine Policy was implemented which opened up warmer relations on the Korean Peninsula, leading to many reunions between families that had not seen each other in decades and raising hopes of finally attaining reunification.

Since the advent of more conservative governments in South Korea starting in 2008, however, the hard-line against the DPRK advocated by the U.S. and aggressive pro-U.S. politicians in the south has once again won out, leaving personal and family ties between the divided Koreas as well as hopes for reunification in limbo.