Koreas set to hold talks on N.K.'s participation in Olympics

All News 06:00 January 17, 2018

SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and North Korea are set to hold working-level talks Wednesday to discuss the details of the North's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

The two sides will meet at the shared border village of Panmunjom, Seoul officials said, mainly to discuss whether to hold a joint march by their athletes at the opening ceremony and field a joint women's hockey team at the Feb. 9-25 Olympics in the South.

The meeting is a follow-up to last week's high-level talks, during which North Korea agreed to send a delegation of athletes, ranking officials, an art troupe and others to the Games.

The move comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un extended a rare offer of rapprochement to Seoul in his New Year's speech following a series of nuclear and missile tests last year.

The outcome of Wednesday's talks is expected to be discussed at the International Olympic Committee's meeting with officials from the Koreas slated for Saturday in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The two sides are expected to work out specifics such as a travel route, accommodation and other logistics, officials said.

The government is reviewing how to transport and accommodate the North's delegation in a way that would not violate multi-layered sanctions.

Under U.N. sanctions, the South can't offer cash directly to the North when it supports delegates' accommodation expenses.

Sea travel could be in violation of South Korea's unilateral sanctions that ban the entry to South Korea of any vessel that has sailed to North Korea within the past 12 months.

It is highly likely that North Koreans would travel to the South by land. The North asked the South to allow its art troupe to cross the border at the truce village of Panmunjom when it visits the South for concerts during the Olympics.

Another sticking point is the North's possible inclusion in its delegation of high-ranking officials blacklisted by U.N. sanctions or by Seoul's unilateral punitive actions.