North Korea’s IOC official said that the organization is "considering South Korea’s proposal for a united female hockey team," according to Kim & Yang of REUTERS. South Korea’s unification ministry and sports and tourism ministry both said that they "have no knowledge of the matter" (REUTERS, 1/12). In N.Y., Choe Sang-Hun reported there would "seem to be little reason" for the North to oppose a unified women's hockey team, given Kim Jong-un’s "sudden outreach to the South this month." South Korean officials "floated the idea last year, but few took it seriously" before Jan. 1, when Kim -- after a year of "high tension over his nuclear program -- abruptly expressed interest in sending a delegation to the Olympics." The IOC "did not immediately respond to a request for comment." A "unified team of any kind at the Olympics would be a milestone for the Koreas." The South Korean women’s hockey team, which has qualified for the Olympics, "would be replaced with the joint Korean team under the South’s proposal" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/13).
