By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
With the Beijing Olympics four months away, the idea of South Korea and North Korea fielding a joint cheering squad in China is still up in the air, let alone a unified team.
The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) and its counterpart from North Korea have been participating in the general meeting of the Association of the National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in Beijing since Monday, but the two sides did not get a chance to talk about the issue.
KOC president Kim Jung-kil suggested to Pak Hak-son, the head of Pyongyang's Olympic commission, they hold a meeting twice, but the North side rejected the offer.
``I have tried to bring up the issue with North Korean officials, but have been unable to initiate discussion at all," Kim said to Yonhap News.
``Since North Korea has yet to notify us of any decision to cancel the agreements, we're still trying to keep contact and will continue to do so.''
As much as Kim desires a discussion with the North, the situation is going against him.
Jang Ung, North Korea's only International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, was skeptical about forming a unified team, saying it would be difficult to dispatch the team to the Olympic Games.
In addition, Pak did not talk about the issue and even avoided an interview request from a South Korean reporter.
The two Koreas have been in negotiations on the possibility of a joint team since December 2005, and they have marched jointly in entrance ceremonies at several world sporting events since the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
During the second inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang last October, the South representatives suggested a joint team, but Kim Jong-il proposed a joint cheering squad, which would travel on the newly-opened cross-border train from Seoul to Pyongyang and then on to Beijing.
The two Koreas held a meeting on the rooting unit in Kaesong, North Korea, in February and reached an agreement that 300 people from each side will go to Beijing by train.
However, due to disagreements on how to select athletes and recent rising tension between the two Koreas, the possibilities of forming a joint team seem unlikely. In making a roster, the South has insisted on choosing athletes based on merit, while the North wants the same number of athletes representing each side.
In addition, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's strong stance toward North Korea has also led to a standstill in discussions.