INCHEON -- North Korea doesn't have enough talent to make a difference for South Korea in women's hockey even if a joint team is assembled for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, South Korea head coach said Tuesday.

Sarah Murray, who returned from the team's U.S. training camp, said she only heard about Seoul's push for the single Korean hockey team two days ago -- and from her staff and other journalists at that, not from any government officials. South Korea proposed the idea to North Korea during their high-level talks last Tuesday, and the two will go back to the table on the matter at a working-level meeting on Wednesday.

The two Koreas faced each other last April during the International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship Division II Group A tournament in Gangneung, the Olympic sub-host city for all hockey games. 

South Korea shut out North Korea 3-0, though the game was more lopsided than the score indicates. South Korea, which went on to win that tournament with an undefeated 5-0 record, is at No. 22 in the world and on the rise, while North Korea, at No. 25, is a team on the downslope.

"There are a few good players on that (North Korean) team that could help us, but our team has gotten so much stronger over the last four seasons," Murray told reporters at Incheon International Airport. "Before, we never had beaten North Korea and now we're beating them pretty easily. They definitely have players that can help us but I don't think they would have anybody that would infiltrate our first, second or third lines."

Murray's team, as it's structured, has some promising young players. Captain Park Jong-ah, 21, is the best forward, a highly-talented winger who can score from anywhere, while 16-year-old forward Kim Hee-won is a rising star. On defense, Eom Su-yeon, also 16, is a mobile, puck-moving rearguard who plays the point on power plays and kills penalties.

South Korea has also imported players from Canada and the U.S.
of Korean descent, including Harvard forward Randi Griffin and Princeton forward Caroline Park.

South Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan first spoke of the possibility of a single Korean hockey team last June. Murray said she and her coaches actually started watching some videos of North Korean games, just in case she'd be asked to coach additional North Korean players.

"They do have some players that play with a lot of heart," she observed. 

"They're hard-nosed and they work really hard. We could potentially add some players but they wouldn't be first- or second-line players for our team."

Murray said she was "shocked" to hear the joint team being mentioned again this close to the Feb. 9-25 Olympics. South Korea's first game is on Feb. 10 against Switzerland.

Murray also said she needs to be updated on just how many players will be added if the joint team materializes. South Korean officials have mentioned 35 as a possible number, though all those players wouldn't physically fit onto the bench or in the locker room.

"When this (joint team idea) first happened, I wanted to do two defensemen and one forward. If we add two or three players, it should be okay to manage that," the coach said. "But making it 35 players is going to be really hard. I don't even think we can fit 35 players on the bench."

Asked to name some North Koreans who had made an impression on her, the coach only remembered the numbers on the back of the jerseys. The first name off Murray's list was defenseman Won Chol-sun, who consistently logged heavy minutes and played in all situations.

"When we played against them, she was blocking shots with her face," Murray said. "She's very intense."

Murray said she wished all of this would have happened sooner.

"I do like the idea of adding a bit competition to the lines but it's different adding players this close to the Olympics rather than doing it two or three years ago," she said. "It's a very tough situation. It's definitely a good story to have our teams come together through sports. I just wish it would have happened earlier." (Yonhap)