N. Korea to send 140-member orchestra Winter Olympics in S. Korea: Seoul

South Korean chief delegate Lee Woo-sung (front, C) and delegates head to the North Korea side of the border to attend a meeting, in the truce village of Panmunjom, North Korea, 15 January 2018. [Photo: dfic]

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed with South Korea Monday to send a 140-member orchestra to the South Korea-hosted Winter Olympic Games, Seoul's unification ministry said.

The agreement came after delegates from the two countries held working-level talks at Tongilgak, a DPRK building in the truce village of Panmunjom which straddles the heavily guarded inter-Korean land border.

The DPRK will send the art troupe during the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games set to run from February to March in South Korea's eastern county of Pyeongchang.

During the Olympic period, the DPRK art troupe will hold concerts in South Korea's capital Seoul and Gangneung near the Pyeongchang county.

The orchestra will cross the inter-Korean land border through Panmunjom to get to South Korea, according to the unification ministry.

South Korea agreed to provide the performance venue and necessary facilities, while the DPRK agreed to send its advance team for the performance as rapidly as possible.