hankyoreh

North Korea’s external publicity outlet

With the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics just 17 days away, advance teams from South and North Korea that will be crossing the border to prepare for the arrival of athletes and officials from both sides will be starting their itineraries on Jan. 23.

“An advance team of 12 people under Lee Joo-tae, director of the Unification Ministry’s Bureau of Cooperation and Exchange, will be visiting North Korea from tomorrow until Jan. 25 in line with agreements reached in high-level and working-level inter-Korean talks,” South Korean Unification Ministry Spokesperson Baik Tae-hyun said during the daily briefing on Jan. 22. The advance team is planning to review facilities near Mount Kumgang and the Masikryong Ski Resort, which are the sites of a joint inter-Korean cultural event and a joint training program for South and North Korean skiers. The advance team is supposed to travel to and from North Korea along the East Sea Line overland route.

North Korea told the South via the communication channel at Panmunjeom on Jan. 21 that it would be sending an advance team of eight people under Yun Yong-bok, deputy director of the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports, for talks lasting from Jan. 25 to 27 about North Korean athletes, cheerleaders and reporters participating in the Pyeongchang Olympics. The advance team is supposed to visit the lodgings, the opening and closing ceremony venue, the stadiums and the press center that will be used by the North Korean delegation during the games. The North said that its team would be crossing the border via the Gyeongui Line overland route.

The North Korean delegation that is visiting the South is expected to be the largest in history. The 46-member sports delegation (consisting of 22 athletes and 24 staff and officials) will arrive first, on Feb. 1, followed on Feb. 7 by 24 members of the National Olympic Committee, 21 reporters, a 30-member Taekwondo demonstration team and 230 cheerleaders, who will travel on the Gyeongui Line overland route. There will also be 250 cheerleaders from the North Korea-affiliated General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) and the 140-member Samjiyon performance group, under Hyon Song-wol, which is likely to bring the total to over 700.

By Seon Dam-eun, staff reporter

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