Five to six North Korean athletes will join South Korea's women's ice hockey team to field a joint Korean team for the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games.

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said in a special lecture at a Seoul university on Thursday that the decision was made to add extra North Korean members to the team so as to not compromise the position of the South Korean athletes.

Cho said he expects at least ten North Korean hockey players to come to the South where some of them will be selected to compete in the Olympics after a practice run. He added that the International Olympic Committee and other international bodies are moving toward consenting to the idea of adding North Korean athletes to the South Korean team.

He refuted claims that fielding a joint team would disadvantage South Korean players, saying Seoul and Pyongyang had agreed the South Korean team's coach would be in charge of the selection process as well as overseeing the games.

Cho said the North's participation in the Olympics marks a first step toward improved inter-Korean relations but quickly added that without progress in resolving the North's nuclear issue, there are clear limitations. 

He stressed the need to create a virtuous cycle of resolving Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program and South-North relations.