North and South Korea announced on Wednesday they will form a joint women’s ice hockey team at the Winter Olympics in February, and that they plan to have their athletes march together for the opening ceremony under one flag.

North and South Korea 2018 joint Olympic Team news

The agreement is a milestone in inter-Korean sports relationships. Seoul has previously stated it hoped such a move could lead to a political softening following years of high tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests.

The Games, which begin Feb. 9 in Pyeongchang, South Korea, will mark the first time the two Koreas have agreed to a joint Olympic team, which will compete under a single flag. It will also be the first unified team since athletes from both Koreas played together for an international table-tennis championship and a youth soccer match in 1991. Athletes from both Koreas marched together during the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, as well as for the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Summer Games. The last time they marched together was in the 2007 Asian Winter Games.

Discussions for a joint team were held at the border village of Panmunjom. The North will send 230 fans to the Games, and negotiators agreed that supporters of both Koreas would root together for athletes from both nations.

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea has been encouraging dialogue with the North. However, North Korea has also caught in itself in a feud with the United States, as President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un have traded verbal jabs in recent months over their respective countries’ nuclear capabilities.

South Korean officials stated Wednesday that the North’s delegation would include at least 550 people, including about 150 to the Paralympic Games in March. However, the joint news statement said the final number would be determined in Switzerland on Saturday, when the International Olympic Committee brings together officials from both countries. The plan is for the North’s athletes to enter the South over a land border on Feb. 1.

Thus far, the Only North Korean athletes to qualify for the Pyeongchang Games are a pairs figure skating team. North Korea missed an Oct. 31 deadline to accept invitations from South Korea and the IOC to join the Games.

South Korean media outlets have reported that the South asked the IOC to allow a unified hockey team to have an expanded roster, so that none of the South Korean players would have to bow out of the games.

SOCHI, RUSSIA – MARCH 16: The Russia and South Korea flags fly as a performer sings during the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games Closing Ceremony at Fisht Olympic Stadium on March 16, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images)

North Korea agreed on Tuesday to send athletes to February’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, a major breakthrough that comes after months of rising tensions over the North’s rapidly growing nuclear program.

North Korea entry 2018 Winter Olympics news

During discussions held at the border village of Panmunjom, North Korean negotiators quickly accepted their Southern neighbors’ request to send a huge delegation to the Winter Games, which begin Feb. 9. In addition to the athletes, North Korea will reportedly send a cheering squad and a performance-art troupe.

The even will mark the first time North Korea has participated in the Winter Olympics in eight years. The country has competed in every Summer Olympics since 1972, except the 1984 Games in Los Angeles and the 1988 Games in Seoul, both of which it boycotted.

In fact, North Korea not only boycotted the 1988 Games but also attempted to disrupt them after discussions with South Korea about a potential co-hosting opportunity fell apart. . North agents planted a bomb on a Korean Air passenger plane in 1987 in a terrorist attack that the South said was aimed at sabotaging the 1988 Olympics. All 115 people on board were killed.

It remains unclear whether North Korea has declared any conditions for its decision to attend this year’s Olympics.

The agreement was reached between Cho Myoung-gyon, the South Korean cabinet minister in charge of relations with the North, and his North Korean counterpart, Ri Son-kwon. 

Ri surprised many when he suggested that the negotiations be open to the press. However, Cho only agree to open parts of the talks to reporters.

North Korea has also become caught in a tense relationship with the United States. Kim Jong-Un and President Donald Trump have exchanged several verbal insults in recent months, dating back to Trump’s appearance at the United Nations in September. The former “The Apprentice” star called his North Korean counterpart “Little Rocket Man,” and Jong-Un called Trump a “dotard.”

On Jan. 2, Trump lashed out at Jong-Un’s statement that he had his hand on the nuclear button at all times by responding on Twitter that the U.S. also has a “much bigger and more powerful button.”

Jong-Un had already said he would be willing to hold talks with South Korea in a New Year’s Day speech.

The International Olympic Committee is eager for the North to return, and has vowed to help cover its athletes’ expenses in Pyeongchang.

The only North Korean athletes to qualify for the Pyeongchang Games so far are a pairs figure skating team. However, North Korea missed an Oct. 31 deadline to accept invitations from the IOC and South Korea to join the Games.

South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, and his administration say North Korea will be less likely to conduct a nuclear or missile test during the Olympics if its athletes are competing in the South. South Korea reportedly hopes to use such a break in the standoff to create a momentum for negotiations between North Korea and the United States.

Due to all the tensions between North Korea and South Korea, some nations like Great Britain have reportedly begun devising plans to prepare for a potential evacuation from the Pyeongchang Olympics if necessary.

SOCHI, RUSSIA – MARCH 16: The Russia and South Korea flags fly as a performer sings during the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games Closing Ceremony at Fisht Olympic Stadium on March 16, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images)

Great Britain’s Olympic officials are preparing a potential evacuation plan for the 2018 winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea should tensions with North Korea escalate.

Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics news

British Olympic Association (BOA) chief executive Bill Sweeney told BBC Sport that “not one single athlete” was concerned about competing in the games, which will begin on February 9.

However, Sweeney added that “welfare officers” would accompany the delegation’s athletes to ensure they feel safe.

Tensions have been increasing between the United States and North Korea over the latter nation’s nuclear weapons program and ballistic missiles tests, particularly following an exchange of insults between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. 

Sweeney added he had been “much more concerned” by the “unpredictable” security threat in Rio, Brazil, which hosted the summer Olympics in 2016.

“The ad-hoc, opportunistic elements of crime were things that we were concerned with and we went to great lengths to make sure that our athletes were as protected as possible,” he said.

The Pyeongchang Games will mark South Korea’s first Olympics since the 1988 Seoul Summer Games.

Pyeongchang is a ski resort town located about 50 miles south of the heavily armed North Korean border.

“Clearly there is an issue around the escalation of tensions between North and South Korea and the Americans,” Sweeney said at BOA headquarters in London. “We talk to the foreign office and the embassy in South Korea on a weekly basis. We had conversations with them last week.”

The flame for the Pyeongchang Games was lit on Tuesday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics. The torch was ignited in front of the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera.

Greek skier Apostolos Angelis and former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung, who is South Korean, both attended the torch-lighting ceremony.

NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 16: The Athletes take to the ice for a quick demonstration during the Team GB announcement of the Short Track Athletes to compete at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on December 16, 2013 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Ex-NBA journeyman Kenny Anderson, who played in the NBA from 1991 to 2006 for a variety of teams, is happy that The Interview was canceled. For those who have been living under a rock, Anderson refers to the recent cancellation of the Seth Rogen comedy: the studio shut down the release after a hacker group, allegedly attached to North Korea, attacked Sony and threatened violence against all theaters who played the movie.

And the decision to cancel the movie has left people up in arms: with various celebrities condemning the cowardly act by Sony and the National Association of Theatre Owners. On the other hand, Kenny Anderson admits he was relieved with Sony’s actions: referring to Sony’s eventual financial losses, Kenny told TMZ Sports “the money’s not as important as human lives… “Sometimes it’s best to cut your losses.””

Now, why does this former player’s comment carry weight? Kenny Anderson was one of the players who visited North Korea with Dennis Rodman’s peace brigade.

Anderson, who actually met Kim Jong-un, told TMZ Sports “I was trippin’ when I saw the movie preview. Why would they want to ruffle their feathers? They already hate America.” And even went on record claiming that Jong-un treated him very well: though he did admit he was ignorant of the atrocities done by Kim Jong-un’s government.