Yonhap via Reuters
Head of the North Korean delegation Ri Son Gwon, left, shakes hands with his South Korean counterpart Cho Myoung Gyon during their meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom on Tuesday.

SEOUL (Reuters) — North Korea said during rare talks with the South on Tuesday it would send a delegation to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea next month and Seoul said it was prepared to lift some sanctions temporarily so the visit could take place.

At the first formal talks with South Korea in more than two years, North Korean officials said their delegation to the Games would consist of athletes, high-ranking officials and a cheering squad.

The talks are being closely watched by world leaders eager for any sign of a reduction in tension on the Korean Peninsula, amid rising fears over North Korea’s missile launches and development of nuclear weapons in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

South Korea has unilaterally banned several North Korean officials from entry in response to Pyongyang’s ramped-up missile and nuclear tests, held despite international pressure.

However, some South Korean officials have said they see the Olympics as a possible opportunity for easing tension.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Roh Kyu Deok said Seoul would consider whether it needed to take “prior steps,” together with the U.N. Security Council and other relevant countries, to help the North Koreans visit for the Olympics …. (read more)

via The Japan News