Anchor: It now seems likely that the North Korean women’s ice hockey team will compete in an international ice hockey tournament that will open in Gangneung in South Korea's Gangwon Province next month. If the North does take part in the event, inter-Korean sports exchanges are likely to enter a new phase. The Unification Ministry hinted that it is OK about the North's participation in the global sporting event. 
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
 
Report: North Korea’s women’s ice hockey team is likely to take part in the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II that will be held in Gangneung from April second to eighth.
 
Gangwon Province Governor Choi Moon-soon said Thursday during a meeting of the provincial assembly that he is confident that the North will participate in next month’s event.
 
[Sound bite: Choi Moon-soon – Governor, Gangwon Province (Korean)]
“Though it has not been finalized there is a strong possibility that the North will take part. The two Koreas will face off on April sixth.”
 
As the North revealed its intentions to join the competition through the International Ice Hockey Federation, attention is drawn to the envisioned inter-Korean match.
 
The South Korean national team has recently been under the spotlight after its emotional victory over China in the 2017 Asian Winter Games held in Sapporo, Japan last month.
 
The North sent a group of athletes to the 2014 Asian Games held in South Korea's Incheon but didn’t take part in the 2015 Summer Universiade held in the South.
 
Organizers of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games believe that if the North competes in next month’s ice hockey tournament, it would most likely take part in the winter games as well.
 
Unification Ministry Spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said Friday that the government will review international practices, rules and procedures to give due considerations for the North's participation in the global sporting event. 
 
The comments were taken as a sign that the government may be positive about the participation of the North regardless of the recent North Korean provocations. 
 
Gangneung will host the Group A contests of the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II. The competition is a test event of the Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News. 

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