Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea - A single Korean Olympic team featuring athletes from the North and South is possible, an official at South Korea's Unification Ministry said Wednesday.
The North wants continued talks on fielding a single team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the South appears interested in keeping the dialogue open.
South Korea "will move in a way that respects the opinion of the sports community," the official said on condition of anonymity, as no final decision was made.
The South and North Korean delegations will march together at the opening and closing ceremonies of next month's Asian Games in Doha.
The two sides are likely to hold talks on the joint Olympic team while in Doha, according to officials.
The move comes amid lingering tensions on the Korean Peninsula over the North's nuclear test last month.
In previous talks, South and North Korea failed to make any headway on how to compose a single team for Beijing.
South Korea has insisted athletes should be selected based on performance, while North Korea wants equal representation based on the spirit of a 2000 inter-Korean summit.
Athletes from South and North Korea marched together at the opening ceremonies of the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, and at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, but competed separately.
The Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty, but their ties have warmed significantly following the 2000 summit between the two countries' leaders.