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N. Korea given the nod to join Winter Games

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LAUSANNE • North Korea will send 22 athletes to next month’s Winter Games in South Korea, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said yesterday, approving a landmark deal between two nations still officially at war..
LAUSANNE • North Korea will send 22 athletes to next month’s Winter Games in South Korea, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said yesterday, approving a landmark deal between two nations still officially at war.
South Korea had hoped that the Games, which begin in Pyeongchang on Feb 9, could help ease the crisis on the peninsula, which has been plagued by months of rising tensions over the North’s nuclear and missile programmes.
In a surprise New Year’s announcement, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he was open to sending a delegation to Pyeongchang.
Before last week’s meeting at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, the two Koreas had already agreed on a set of momentous compromises, including delegations from both countries marching together at the opening ceremony and the formation of a unified women’s hockey team.
But the two Koreas still needed approval from the IOC, as the pact required the suspension of some basic Olympic rules.
IOC president Thomas Bach gave that approval yesterday, announcing that 22 athletes had been cleared to compete in three sports and a total of five disciplines.

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