Sport unites the two Koreas, could it be the beginning of reunification?

North and South Korea have agreed to march together under a single "unified Korea" flag at next month's Winter Olympics.
They also agreed to field a joint female ice hockey team.
These are the first high-level talks between countries in more than two years.
Mark a thaw in the relationships that started in the new year in which North Korea has offered to send a team to the games.
The games will take place between 9 and 25 February in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

What will happen?

If the plans are implemented, a 230-strong North Korean delegation - including 140 cheerleaders, 30 orchestral players and XNUMX taekwondo athletes - could cross the southern border to participate in the Winter Olympics.
It would mean opening the cross-border road for the first time in nearly two years.
The two countries have also agreed to field a joint team for the sport of women's ice hockey. It would be the first time that athletes from the two Koreas will compete together in the same team during the Olympics.
The North also agreed to send a delegation of minors of 150 members to the Paralympics in March.
The deal will need to be approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on Saturday because North Korea missed registration deadlines or failed to qualify.
South Korea will also have to find a way to host the North Korean delegation without violating the UN Security Council sanctions banning money transfers to Pyongyang and respecting the blacklist of some senior officials in the North.

What was the reaction?

The South Korean hockey manager and conservative newspapers have expressed concern over the prospect of a united hockey team, saying it could hurt South Korea's chances of winning a medal.
It is said that tens of thousands of people have signed online petitions to urge President Moon Jae-in to cancel the plan.
But the Liberal leader said Wednesday to South Korean Olympic athletes that Nordic participation in the Games would help improve inter-Korean relations.
Japan has viewed the latest détente with suspicion, with Foreign Minister Taro Kono saying the world should not be blinded by Pyongyang's recent "offensive charm".
"This is not the time to release the pressure or reward North Korea," said Kono. "The fact that North Korea is engaged in dialogue could be interpreted as proof that sanctions are working."

No Korean spring

Analysis by Jonathan Marcus, BBC Defense and Diplomatic Correspondent

The Olympic embrace between North and South Korea represents a rare moment of hope in a crisis that at times seems to have progressively shifted towards another war on the Korean peninsula.
But is this a brief pause in the rhetoric between Pyongyang and President Donald Trump, Seoul's main ally? Or does it really offer a platform for a diplomatic path out of this crisis?
The enormity of an armed conflict is clear to everyone, even President Trump. However, the Olympic detente does not alter the reality of North Korea's ballistic and nuclear missile programs.
Both programs require more tests to demonstrate true intercontinental capacity. And with Trump insisting that this is a capacity that will not be allowed in the North, it is difficult to see him turn into a Korean spring, let alone a definitive resolution of the nuclear dispute.

The talks that led to this agreement came after the tensions on the Korean peninsula reached the highest point in recent decades.
This is because North Korea has made rapid progress in its nuclear and conventional weapons programs in recent years.
His latest ballistic missile test, November 28, unleashed a series of new UN sanctions for gas shipments.
Shortly after, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared he was "open to dialogue".
In his New Year's speech, he said he was considering sending a team to the Winter Olympics. South Korea's Olympics chief said last year that athletes from the North would be welcome.
Then, on January 9, the two countries made the decisive announcement that the North would send a delegation.
It was also agreed that a line of military contact between nations, suspended for almost two years, would be restored.
President Moon Jae-in said the Olympic deal could pave the way for the nuclear issue and lead to a dialogue between North Korea and the United States.

Sport unites the two Koreas, could it be the beginning of reunification?