North and South Korea "agreed on four sports in which North Korean athletes will compete at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics," POCOG President Lee Hee-beom revealed Thursday, according to YONHAP. Lee said that North Korea will send athletes in pairs figure skating, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and women's ice hockey. Lee added that the agreement was reached during "working-level inter-Korean talks" on Wednesday. He declined to disclose the number of North Korean athletes agreed by the two sides because the IOC "will have the final say on the matter" (YONHAP, 1/18).
'PEACE' EVENT: YONHAP also reported the countries' agreement to conduct joint training at a ski resort in the North reflects Seoul's wish to make the Games a "peace" event, a government official said Thursday. The two sides agreed on Wednesday to hold a "joint cultural event" at Mount Kumgang in North Korea. The news "sparked a heated debate" in South Korea as critics said that the joint exercise would "promote the ski resort," one of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un's "pet projects" (YONHAP, 1/18).
