South and North Korea fail to agree on team make-up

Sports officials of South and North Korea meeting yesterday in Kaesong, just north of the border, failed to agree on the make-up of a joint team for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.

The two Koreas agreed on November 1 to compete as a single team.

Sports officials in the South have said agreeing on whether to seek a fair balance of athletes from the two sides or form the strongest team possible will be a challenge.

"The South and the North shared the view on taking part as a single team and discussed a range of issues," a South Korean Olympic Committee official said by telephone. He declined to elaborate on the details.

"They agreed to continue discussions at a future date," he said. No date has been set for the follow-up talks.

Athletes from the two Koreas have marched together before under one flag at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and at the 2004 Athens Games. They then competed for their separate countries.

The IOC has shown support for having a joint Korean team in Beijing.