That meeting may come much sooner than any of the South Koreans expected. On Wednesday, officials from North and South Korea agreed to field a joint women’s hockey team and march under the same flag at the Olympics, which begin Feb. 9. The International Olympic Committee, which had been pressing for the two countries to cooperate during the Games, is expected to ratify the agreement at a meeting Saturday in Switzerland.

So far, the only North Korean athletes to qualify for the Pyeongchang Games are a pairs figure skating team but it is not clear if they will be among North Korea’s delegation, which would number about 550 people and may also include a pop orchestra and supporters.

The move to field a joint hockey team, supported by President Moon Jae-in of South Korea but met with some criticism by the public, has created uncertainty for the South Korean team, which has trained as a core group over the last four years and already is something of a hybrid.

To fill out its roster and compete at the highest level, the Korean Ice Hockey Association recruited a handful of women’s hockey players of Korean heritage from the United States and Canada. With their counterparts from South Korea, the women have established a familial bond while pushing to earn a reputation as a strong team, not just as one gifted a berth into their first Olympic appearance as the host nation.

Among the greatest unknown is who from the North will be joining their team.

Sarah Murray, the Canadian-born coach of the South Korean team, fielded those questions as she arrived in South Korea on Tuesday, facing a horde of reporters with a sudden, elevated interest in women’s hockey and North Korean players.