SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea plans to propose to North Korea that the nations march together at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.

Athletes from the two Koreas have marched together in the same uniform under the blue and white "unification flag" at several major international sports events, including the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, and have used the traditional song "Arirang" in place of individual anthems in a show of reconciliation.

But the prospect of a joint march at next month's Beijing Games has dimmed. Reconciliation talks have been suspended since South Korea's conservative new president, Lee Myung-bak, assumed office in February with a harder-line stance toward Pyongyang.

"We think it would be good if the two sides march together," a South Korean government official said Tuesday on condition of anonymity, citing the issue's sensitivity. "We plan to contact the North's Olympic committee ... to convey our intention."

The official did not offer specifics, such as when the South plans to contact the North.

In June, the head of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, sent letters to the two Koreas asking them to carry on the eight-year practice, the official said.

Even if South Korea makes such an offer, it is unclear if Pyongyang would accept it.

North Korea has been harshly critical of Seoul's new administration, threatening to attack the South and calling Lee a "traitor." Pyongyang also has rejected food aid from the South.

Paek Hyun-sup, an official with the South's Olympic Committee, said his organization is trying to set up the joint march in cooperation with the IOC and China's Olympic organizing committee, although it has not talked directly to the North due to the political tension.

"We're paying much attention to making a joint march happen," Paek said.

Past agreements on joint marches have not always been reached smoothly.

Ahead of the December 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, the North's Olympic committee sent a joint-march proposal to the South first, but Seoul did not accept it immediately in anger over Pyongyang's first nuclear test that October. The South agreed to march together about a week before the event.

"If the two sides have the intention, an agreement can be reached even at the venue," Paek said.

Ahead of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, a joint-march agreement was reached more than a month before the opening.

The two Koreas discussed forming a unified team to compete at the upcoming games, but the negotiations fell apart due to differences on how to select athletes. The South has insisted they be selected based on performance, while the North demanded equal representation.

The two Koreas fought the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the nations still technically at war.