South Korea will begin a joint training programme at the Masikryong ski resort in North Korea on Wednesday as had been initially planned, the South's Ministry of Unification said, with a 45-person delegation set to depart for a two-day trip.
South Korea will begin a joint training programme at the Masikryong ski resort in North Korea on Wednesday as had been initially planned, the South's Ministry of Unification said, with a 45-person delegation set to depart for a two-day trip.
The South Korean delegation, which includes roughly 30 athletes, will fly in a chartered plane at 0100 GMT on Wednesday from Yangyang International Airport in northeastern South Korea to Kalma Airport in Wonsan, the ministry said in a mobile text.
They will fly on an Asiana Airlines plane, a ministry official told the news agency. The charter had been set up in order not to conflict with existing sanctions imposed against North Korea by the United States, the official said without providing further details.
According to US unilateral sanctions against North Korea, no ship or aircraft can visit the United States within 180 days of going to North Korea.
The South Korean delegation will be joined on their return trip by North Koreans who will visit the South to prepare for the Pyeongchang Olympics that begin on February 9.
North and South Korea launched rare talks early in January to bring North Koreans to the Winter Olympics after the North's leader, Kim Jong Un, said in a New Year's address he was willing to open discussions with Seoul.
The two Koreas have since agreed on several things, including cultural performances by North Korea in the South and a unified women's ice hockey team for the Olympics.
They were also scheduled to hold a joint cultural performance in North Korea's Mount Kumgang resort but Pyongyang decided to call it off late on Monday, blaming South Korean media for encouraging "insulting" public sentiment about the North.
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