IOC to urge Koreas to form unified 2008 Games team

The International Olympic Committee said it would hold talks with South and North Korean Olympic Committee officials next week in a bid to form a unified team in time for the 2008 Beijing Games.

"President Jacques Rogge is meeting the National Olympic Committees next week," an IOC official said. "We can confirm that."

The official said Rogge would meet both in Lausanne. A South Korean Olympic Committee official earlier said Rogge would meet Kim Jung-kil, president of the country's Olympic Committee on Tuesday.

He said Rogge had also invited North Korea to attend but there has been no confirmation of the meeting by North Korea.

North Korea delayed the discussions on a joint team because of the diplomatic tension over its test-firing of missiles in July.

The two sides have also failed to agree on how the unified team should be selected with Pyongyang saying there should be equal representation and Seoul insisting the selection should be based on merit.

The two Koreas have marched together at Olympic Games, most recently at this year's Winter Games in Turin, but competed as separate teams.