British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday downplayed a mix-up which saw North Korea's female football team walk off the pitch in an embarrassing start to the London Olympics.
Games organisers have apologised to the North Korean delegation after its football squad were shown on giant screens next to South Korea's flag, at their opener against Colombia on Wednesday at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland.
Relations between the two Koreas, still officially at war and sharing the world's most heavily guarded border, have plunged in recent months over the communist North's nuclear programme.
The North Koreans left the pitch in protest but were convinced to return an hour later after the mistake had been rectified, and went on to win the match 2-0.
"This was an honest mistake, honestly made," Cameron said at a press conference at the Olympic Park in east London.
"An apology's been made and I'm sure every step will be taken to make sure these things don't happen again.
"We shouldn't inflate this episode. It was unfortunate, it shouldn't have happened, and I think we can leave it at that."
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge described the incident as "most unfortunate".
"I can assure you the organising committee will take corrective action and there will be no repeat," he said on Thursday. "There is no political connotation, just a simple human mistake."
Paul Deighton, chief executive of Games organisers LOCOG, said a letter had been sent to the North Koreans explaining what happened.
But North Korean IOC member Ung Chang was not satisfied by the apologies. "Of course the people are angry," he said. "If your athlete got a gold medal and the flag of some other country was put up what happens then? Imagine the reaction."
A second row has also emerged over Taiwan's national flag, which has been removed from a display on one of London's busiest shopping roads, Regent Street.
Shen Lyushun, Taipei's representative in London, has demanded an explanation after the Taiwanese flag was replaced on Wednesday night with the flag of the nation's Olympic committee.
This flag has been used at the Olympic Games since the 1980s, when the International Olympic Committee ruled that Taiwan could not compete under its formal name, the Republic of China, or use its national flag.
But a spokesman for Shen said the ruling only applied to Olympic venues. "This agreement doesn't prevent us from using our national flag outside Games venues -- and this flag is in a business area, not a venue," he told AFP.
"We do hope our national flag will be put back in its original place."
A spokesman for the Regent Street Association said the flags had been changed on LOCOG's advice. LOCOG did not immediately respond to requests to comment.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has asked organisers to correct athletes' biographies on the Games website, which places their Ukrainian birthplaces in Russia.
The problem applies chiefly to athletes who are representing Russia but were born in the Soviet Union on the territory of modern Ukraine. The website clearly states that the Ukrainian cities where they were born are in Russia.
