S . Korean hockey director looks for ' solutions ' with joint women ' s teamBy Yoo Jee - ho JINCHEON , South Korea , Jan . 22 ( Yonhap ) -- South Korean national hockey director Jim Paek said Monday that he is trying to " look for solutions , not problems " when it comes to the joint Korean women ' s team at the upcoming Winter Olympics . Paek , head coach of the men ' s national team , who doubles as the national program director for the Korea Ice Hockey Association ( KIHA ) , attended his team ' s pre - Olympic media day at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon , some 90 kilometers south of Seoul . The unified Korean team for the PyeongChang Winter Games has been the hottest topic in the sport in recent weeks . The International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) announced last Saturday that 12 North Korean players will join the 23 - player South Korean team , with a minimum three North Koreans to be included on the 22 - player game roster . Jim Paek ( C ) , head coach of the South Korean men ' s national hockey team , speaks at a press conference at Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon , North Chungcheong Province , on Jan . 22 , 2018 . ( Yonhap ) The fast - developing situation -- the Koreas agreed to form the joint team on Jan . 9 and the IOC ruled in favor of it just 11 days later -- has divided South Korea . One side has cried foul , saying that the government unfairly forced the idea on unsuspecting players and thereby stripped them of an opportunity to play in the Olympics . Others have said the joint hockey team represents a step toward reconciliation on the divided Korean Peninsula , and keeping a few South Korean players out of some games is for a greater good . Against this backdrop , Paek put on the hat as national team director momentarily during the men ' s team ' s press conference . " When it comes to the North Korean - South Korean women ' s team , there are so many angles where you can approach this ; from the government ' s side ; how do the women feel ? Or how do the people or Korea feel ? " Paek said . " What I ' d like to say is we look for solution , not problems . Whatever the issues are , we ' ll find solutions and we ' ll come together and do the best we can possibly do in that situation . " South Korea women ' s head coach Sarah Murray will remain as the bench boss for the unified team . With her team ' s first game slated for Feb . 10 , she ' s stuck in an unenviable position of having to leave at least four of the players she ' s coached over the last four years and select at least three North Koreans out of 12 after training them for only a couple of weeks . Asked if he has offered any advice to Murray , Paek said it ' s ultimately up to her to make the calls on her team . " She is a very strong woman who has a great hold on her team , " Paek said . " We have conversations because she has her ideas and I have mine . But it ' s her team at the end of the day . I think she has a great handle on the situation and on how she ' s going to approach these things . " North Korea will send 22 athletes in total to PyeongChang , with short track speed skating , cross - country skiing and figure skating being the other sports . The athletic delegation is scheduled to arrive on Feb . 1 , but South Korean officials have said they hoped the hockey players would come down before that and have more time to work out with the South Korean team . " We don ' t know when these 12 players are coming over , but we ' ll have positive answers to every obstacle we face , " Paek said . " Then it ' ll be up to Sarah to direct her team to what she thinks will be the best possible fit to make her team competitive . " jeeho @ yna . co . kr ( END )