--- title: North and South Korea's Joint Olympic Team Stirs Controversy description: North and South Korea will march under one flag for the 2018 Winter Olympics, but North Korea's participation is already causing controversy canonical: https://time.com/5106422/north-south-korea-olympics-controversy/ author: Sean Gregory article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-17T22:26:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:54:15.535Z article:section: Sports og:title: North and South Korea's Joint Olympic Team Stirs Controversy og:description: The unity overtures don't come without potential consequences og:url: https://time.com/5106422/north-south-korea-olympics-controversy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92b6fa7c38ca976f/6988f88397cdff25a66b3f76/gettyimages-660259352.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: north-korean-figure-skating-pair og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: North and South Korea's Joint Olympic Team Stirs Controversy twitter:description: The unity overtures don't come without potential consequences twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92b6fa7c38ca976f/6988f88397cdff25a66b3f76/gettyimages-660259352.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # North Korea Aligning With South Korea for the Winter Olympics Is Already Causing Controversy > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Sean Gregory](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Senior Correspondent Jan 17, 2018 10:26 PM UTC  Tae Ok Ryom and Ju Sik Kim of North Korea compete in the Pairs Short Program during day one of the World Figure Skating Championships at Hartwall Arena on March 29, 2017 in Helsinki, Finland. Tae Ok Ryom and Ju Sik Kim of North Korea compete in the Pairs Short Program during day one of the World Figure Skating Championships at Hartwall Arena on March 29, 2017 in Helsinki, Finland.Joosep Martinson - ISU—ISU via Getty Images  by [Sean Gregory](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Senior Correspondent Jan 17, 2018 10:26 PM UTC The agreement between North Korea and South Korea to march under one flag for the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 9 would seem to suggest that sports could help achieve the ultimate diplomatic breakthrough. After mounting tensions over [North Korea’s nuclear escalation](http://time.com/4926030/north-korea-nuclear-test-kim-jong-un/) put South Korea and its allies on high alert, a unified women’s hockey team and North Korea’s [230-member cheering squad](http://time.com/5105635/north-korea-cheerleading-2018-winter-olympics/) in PyeongChang sound downright Kumbaya. Perhaps. But these overtures don’t come without potential consequences that could scuttle whatever opening they help create. Take North Korea’s cheerleaders. Known as the “army of beauties” in the south, according to the[_Korea Herald_](http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180111000949), they may not be welcomed with open arms by all. “N. Korea’s Army of Cheerleaders Needs (sic) To Stay at Home,” reads one headline in[ _The Chosun Ilbo_](http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html%5Fdir/2018/01/17/2018011701317.html). “The North Korean cheerleading squad is filled with hand-picked beauties who, aside from their lipstick and smiles, are remembered here for going into hysterics when they saw a picture of their leader hanging from a tree as they were driven through the streets of South Korea,”[ writes](http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html%5Fdir/2018/01/17/2018011701317.html) the author, Sonu Jong. The joint North and South Korea Olympic hockey team is already causing some controversy in the south. Reuters [reported](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2018-northkorea-icehockey/plan-for-joint-olympics-team-with-north-gets-icy-reception-in-south-korea-idUSKBN1F50E8) that more than 70% of South Koreans oppose forming a team with North Korea, according to a Jan. 11 survey released by the office of the South’s National Assembly Speaker and television network SBS. South Korean players, who just returned from a training camp in the United States, are reportedly “furious” about the prospect of teaming up with strangers. “I think there is damage to our players,” Sarah Murray, coach of the South Korean team, [told](http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2018/01/16/0401000000AEN20180116010500315.html) reporters. “It’s hard because the players have earned their spots and they think they deserve to go to the Olympics. Then you have people being added later. It definitely affects our players.” **Read:** [A Brief History of Sports and Politics on the Korean Peninsula](http://time.com/5092029/north-south-korea-olympics-sports-politics-rivalry/) The Winter Olympics hockey rosters for 2018 are set at 23 players, so a unified team could take spots away from South Korean players who thought they were going to PyeongChang. South Korean sports officials will reportedly ask Olympic organizers to increase the roster size to 30. For the host nation, the Olympics are the payoff after years of preparation and a significant financial investment. Some experts worry that North Korea’s overtures could eclipse South Korea and lead to a backlash. “North Korea is kind of casting a shadow over the limelight,” says Scott Snyder, director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, and author of the just-released book [_South Korea at the Crossroads_](https://www.cfr.org/book/south-korea-crossroads)_._ “On the one hand, I think the South Korean government is delighted to show the world that the Games are going to be safe,” Snyder says, noting that North Korea’s participation would seem to preclude any agitation, nuclear or otherwise, directed towards PyeongChang. “On the flip side, how far do you focus on drawing the North Koreans in?” As for the U.S. and the broader goal of a diplomatic solution to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, Snyder cautions against raising expectations. “So far this is a limited-time only inter-Korean engagement,” he says. “In a way the Olympics are a commercial break from the drama and tensions that have continued to build between the United States and North Korea.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5106422/north-south-korea-olympics-controversy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5106422/north-south-korea-olympics-controversy/"},"headline":"North Korea Aligning With South Korea for the Winter Olympics Is Already Causing Controversy","datePublished":"2018-01-17T22:26:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:54:15.535Z","description":"North and South Korea will march under one flag for the 2018 Winter Olympics, but North Korea's participation is already causing controversy","url":"https://time.com/5106422/north-south-korea-olympics-controversy/","keywords":["2018 Pyeongchang Olympics","North Korea","Winter Olympics","South Korea","Kim Jong Un"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92b6fa7c38ca976f/6988f88397cdff25a66b3f76/gettyimages-660259352.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sean Gregory","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92b6fa7c38ca976f/6988f88397cdff25a66b3f76/gettyimages-660259352.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"north-korean-figure-skating-pair","caption":"North Korean figure skaters Tae Ok Ryom and Ju Sik Kim","creditText":"Joosep Martinson - ISU—ISU via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2018-pyeongchang-olympics/","name":"2018 Pyeongchang Olympics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5106422/north-south-korea-olympics-controversy/","name":"North Korea Aligning With South Korea for the Winter Olympics Is Already Causing Controversy"}}]}] ```