North Korea is sending 22 athletes to Olympics
IOC hopes Games participation and hockey roster united with S. Korea will be catalyst for peace
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND— A Korean unity deal for the Pyeongchang Olympics will bring 22 North Korean athletes across the border to South Korea, where they will march as one under a unification flag at the opening ceremony and compete together in one sport.
In the most symbolic agreement approved Saturday, 12 North Korean women’s hockey players will join their neighbours in a united roster playing in special uniforms with a Korean anthem.
North Koreans will also compete in figure skating, short track speed skating, Alpine skiing and cross-country skiing after being given exceptional late entries by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).The delegation will include 24 coaches and officials, plus 21 media representatives at the Feb. 9-25 Winter Games.
The governments of North and South Korea were offered “sincere thanks” by IOC President Thomas Bach announcing the agreement.
An Olympic deal became possible after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a New Year’s speech that a team could cross the border to compete. “Such an agreement would have seemed impossible only a few weeks ago,” said Bach, who did not take questions from international media.
Bach was flanked by Olympic and government officials from both countries at a brief news conference at the Olympic Museum after a 2 1⁄2- hour meeting at IOC offices nearby. North Korea’s delegation, including sports minister Kim Il Guk, did not stay to brief media after signing the agreement for the cameras.
South Korea’s sports minister, Do Jonghwan, said through a translator of the accord: “It is very important for the Korean Peninsula.”
There has been skepticism about Kim Jong Un’s offer. Critics believe he may try to leverage the Olympics to weaken U.S.led international pressure and sanctions toughened due to North Korea’s prolonged program of nuclear tests and missile launches.
Bach said the IOC had talked with Olympic officials from both countries separately since 2014 to see if the Pyeongchang Games could be the catalyst for peacemaking. The deal confirmed Saturday built on a breakthrough agreement reached Wednesday at the Korean neighbours’ shared border. “The Olympic Games show us what the world could look like if we were all guided by the Olympic spirit of respect and understanding,” Bach said.
The united women’s hockey team will be the first time the two Koreas will have joined together in Olympic events.