North Korea鈥檚 delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea will include a 140-member orchestra, the two sides agreed Monday, while discussions continue over fielding a joint women鈥檚 hockey team.
The two Koreas met Monday for the second time in a week as they try to hammer out details for the North鈥檚 participation in next month鈥檚 Games, which the South sees as a way to calm tensions caused by Pyongyang鈥檚 nuclear and missile tests.
South Korea鈥檚 Unification Ministry said that the orchestra will perform in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and in the city of Gangneung, where some of the competitions will be held.
Separately, South Korean Sports Ministry spokesman Hwang Seong Un said that the two Koreas have agreed in principle to field a joint women鈥檚 ice hockey team. The proposal requires International Olympic Committee approval. If realized, it would be the Koreas鈥� first unified Olympic team ever.
Officials from both Koreas are to meet with the International Olympic Committee at its headquarters in Switzerland on Saturday. The two sides agreed Monday to meet again at their border on Wednesday for working-level talks ahead of the IOC meeting.
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North Korea last week agreed to send an Olympic delegation and hold military talks aimed at reducing frontline animosities in its first formal talks with South Korea in about two years. The North has said its delegation to the Feb. 9-25 Games in Pyeongchang would include an art troupe along with officials, athletes, cheerleaders, journalists and a taekwondo demonstration team.
The reasons for North Korea鈥檚 softer approach are not clear, though some analysts say the North may be trying to divide Seoul and Washington as a way to weaken pressure and sanctions on the country. North Korea carried out nuclear and missile tests last year that triggered harsher U.N. sanctions and worldwide condemnation.
Others speculate the North wants to use the Olympics to show it鈥檚 a normal country despite possessing nuclear weapons.
North Korea has insisted its talks with South Korea won鈥檛 deal with its nuclear and missile programs, saying those weapons primarily target the United States. Critics question how long the warmer mood can last without any serious discussion on the North鈥檚 nuclear disarmament.
The North issued a veiled threat Sunday that it could cancel its plans to send an Olympic delegation to protest what it called South Korea鈥檚 鈥渟ordid acts鈥� that chilled the prospect for inter-Korean reconciliation.
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鈥淭hey should know that (the) train and bus carrying our delegation to the Olympics are still in Pyongyang,鈥� the North鈥檚 official Korean Central 亚洲天堂 Agency said. 鈥淭he South Korean authorities had better ponder over what unfavourable results may be entailed by their impolite behaviour.鈥�
KCNA criticized remarks by South Korean President Moon Jae-in last week that credited President Donald Trump for getting the North to sit down with the South. It also accused Seoul of letting Washington deploy strategic assets like an aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula on the occasion of the Olympics. The United States is beefing up its presence around the peninsula in what it describes as routine training and scheduled upgrades.
The warning is relatively milder than the North鈥檚 typical fiery, bellicose rhetoric and it didn鈥檛 appear to put the recent signs of warming Korean ties in imminent danger.
A joint statement after Monday鈥檚 meeting didn鈥檛 mention North Korea鈥檚 well-known Moranbong Band, an all-female ensemble hand-picked by the North鈥檚 leader Kim Jong Un.
One of the North Korean delegates to the talks was Hyon Song Wol, the head of the band, fueling speculation that North Korea might send the band.
Since its first stage debut in 2012, the band is hugely popular at home and has been dubbed by outsiders as 鈥淣orth Korea鈥檚 only girl group鈥� for its Western-style performances featuring women in mini-skirts and high heels dancing and singing odes to Kim.
Hyung-Jin Kim, The Associated Press
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