North Korea to send 22 athletes to Winter Olympic Games
Saturday 20 January 2018 16:04, UK
North Korea are to send 22 athletes to next month's Winter Olympic Games in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Saturday that the North's contingent will compete in three sports, over five disciplines.
The IOC also confirmed that the two nations will march together at the opening ceremony on February 9, under a single flag.
North and South will also field a united team in the women's ice hockey tournament.
IOC chief Thomas Bach told reporters in Lausanne that the 22 athletes will participate in figure skating, short-track speed skating, cross-country skiing and Alpine skiing, in addition to the joint ice-hockey team.
North Korea will also send 24 officials and 21 media representatives to the Games, while the flag will be jointly carried by an athlete from each country.
Bach said: "Today marks a milestone on a long journey. The Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang are hopefully opening the door to a brighter future on the Korean peninsula, and inviting the world to join in a celebration of hope."
North and South Korea remain technically at war since the Korean War ended with armistice, not a peace treaty, in 1953.
The North's decision to compete in Pyeongchang - just 50 miles south of the demilitarised zone that divides the Koreas - is an historic diplomatic coup.
