By Sunny Lee
Korea Times Correspondent
BEIJING _ While North Korea has snubbed the South's request to enter discussions for a possible joint march during the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, it has pointed its fingers at the South for being at fault.
``Neither did we meet, nor did we discuss the matter,'' Koh Chul-ho, a North Korean Olympic liaison official in Beijing, said when approached by The Korea Times. He refused to elaborate.
A more blunt answer came from the North Korean Embassy in Beijing.
``The key is not on whether the two Koreas can march together during the opening ceremony, but whether we can unite our hearts together,'' an official there said in a telephone interview. He didn't give his name.
``It's all useless to march together in the Olympics or for that matter we toast at a dinner, when fundamentally, our hearts are not united," he said.
``Please think about it,'' he said. ``The pacts such as the June 15 agreement or the Oct. 4 agreement were signed by both Koreas. It was not a unilateral decision by North Korea.
``But the South broke all these agreements unilaterally and now says that we should hold our hands together at the Olympics. … The South looks like the cat that ate the canary.''
Although the atmosphere in Beijing is not hopeful for a joint march as the time ticks to the opening ceremony, Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) President Lee Yeon-taek said it's too early to give up hope.
``We are waiting for the final coordination from the IOC (International Olympic Committee). We still have some time,'' Lee said on his way to an evening gala meeting at the Great Hall of People.
Both Koreas had agreed in their second major summit last year to field a single unified group of athletes and supporters in Beijing. The process faltered, however, after Pyongyang declined to discuss details.
North Korea also declined the Koreas marching one after the other with the South going first in the Beijing ceremony, based on alphabetical order of their country names in English. North Korea insisted on using the title ``Democratic People's Republic of Korea,'' and the Beijing Olympic organizing committee then changed South Korea's title to ``Republic of Korea.''
"I think North Korea felt a bit uncomfortable about the fact that it has to march behind the South,'' Lee said. ``But I don't see it as a sign that North Korea ignores the South.''
``The two Koreas have marched jointly for the last nine international games,'' Lee said. ``It will be a regret if we cannot do it this time.
``But then, this is not something that the South can make a decision unilaterally. In the end, it's up to the IOC to decide.''
Another senior KOC executive official, who asked not to be named, said, ``Ultimately, this is not a sports issue, but a political issue.''