Olympic athletes from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) arrived in the Republic of Korea (RoK) on 1 Februaryfor the upcoming PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.

Flags of participating nations for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games fly at Gangneung Olympic Village in Gangneung, Gangwon province, on 1 Feb, 2018. (Photo: Yonhap News)

The 32-strong delegation, including 10 athletes, landed at the Yangyang International Airport on a RoK chartered plane at around 6:09 pm, according to a pool report quoted by the RoK’s Yonhap news agency.

The airport is about 50 kilometers north of Gangneung, the sub-host city for all ice events, located just east of PyeongChang.

After clearing customs, the DPRK athletes left the airport shortly after 7 pm and headed straight to the Gangneung Olympic Village, which mainly accommodates athletes in ice sports.

Led by its Vice Sports Minister Won Kil-u, the delegation includes 3 alpine skiers, three cross-country skiers, 2 figure skaters and 2 short track speed skaters.

A dozen women's ice hockey players, along with three officials, came to the RoK on Jan 25 to start training with 23 local athletes as part of a historic unified team.

The Koreas agreed on the DPRK participation in PyeongChang 2018, the first Winter Olympics to take place in the Republic of Korea, on 17 January. Three days later, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the DPRK participation and said it will accredit 22 athletes and 24 officials from the DPRK.

The DPRK and RoK hockey players will play Sweden in a pre-Olympic tuneup match at 6.00 pm on 4 February in Incheon, just west of Seoul. They will travel to Gangneung after the game.

(Source: VNA)