Politics
13:59, 01-Feb-2018
DPRK athletes arriving in S. Korea Thursday for Winter Olympics
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Athletes from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) were flying to the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Thursday to participate in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the ROK unification ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Baek Tae-hyun told a press briefing that the DPRK's delegation was scheduled to arrive at the Yangyang International Airport in the southeast at about 5:45 p.m. local time (0845 GMT).
The delegation will be joined on the flight by ROK skiers, who have trained for two days with their DPRK counterparts at the DPRK's Masikryong Ski Resort, the spokesman said.
The plane carrying the two teams will take off from Kalma airport in Wonsan in eastern DPRK.
The Olympics athletes village in Gangneung, where the DPRK's national flag has been raised. /VCG Photo
The Olympics athletes village in Gangneung, where the DPRK's national flag has been raised. /VCG Photo
The DPRK delegation, comprised of 10 athletes, three coaches and 18 supporting personnel, will be led by Won Kil U, the DPRK's vice sports minister.
The athletes include three skiers, three cross-country skiers, two short-track speed skaters and two figure skaters.
Twelve DPRK athletes had arrived in the ROK last week for a joint women's ice hockey team, the first unified Olympic team between the two countries.
Meanwhile, an advance team of the DPRK's art troupe will arrive by land on Feb. 5 and the remaining members of the DPRK orchestra will cross the inter-Korean land border the following day.
The 140-member orchestra is scheduled to hold concerts in the eastern city of Gangneung on Feb. 8 as well as in the capital Seoul on Feb. 11.
The DPRK art troupe will go back home on Feb. 12, according to Seoul's unification ministry.
The ROK will host the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games in its eastern county of PyeongChang. The winter sports event will kick off on Feb. 9, continuing to run through March.
During the high-level inter-Korean dialogue in January, the DPRK agreed to send its athletes, cheerleaders, musicians and a demonstration team in taekwondo, a traditional Korean martial art to the winter sports event.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency