South and North Korea will NOT be able to compete as a unified team at the Women's World Handball Championships which kick off in Japan in November.
According to sources, the International Handball Federation sent a letter to Seoul's Korea Handball Federation saying North Korea would not be able to take part due to scheduling reasons.
The news is unexpected as the IHF was the first to propose the idea.
Last January, the two Koreas had a combined team at the men's handball worlds, at the request of the international handball body.