A group of 280 North Koreans arrived in South Korea on Wednesday, one of the largest peacetime crossings of the Korean border, to cheer on athletes from the two Koreas at the Winter Olympics starting on Friday.
The delegation is made up mostly of a 229-member cheer squad and also has 26 taekwondo performers, 21 journalists and four North Korean Olympic committee members, including Sports Minister Kim Il-guk.
After security controls the group left for the Olympics venue in the alpine resort town of PyeongChang.
Gangneung Olympic Park. Photo: Photosport
Their arrival comes a day after a North Korean ferry crossed the border carrying a 140-strong orchestra to perform during the Games.
The group will be housed at Inje Speedium Hotel & Resort, a four-star luxury hotel roughly two-hours drive from the Olympic venue.
Days before the group's arrival, workers at Inje Speedium had placed banners around the premises welcoming the North Koreans, reading "We are one" and "welcome".
Police have been deployed to enforce safety at the resort.
The members of North Korea's Olympic committee are expected to stay at the PyeongChang Holiday Inn, a subsidiary of InterContinental Hotels Group.
The taekwondo performance team is scheduled to hold four shows during their stay in South Korea.
Two demonstrations will be held near PyeongChang, while the team will travel to the capital Seoul for the remaining two.
As the orchestra arrived on Tuesday in a ferry, which will also be used as accommodation, they were greeted by angry protesters who held large photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with black crosses drawn through them.
Pyongyang's state media lashed out at the rallies as a "never-to-be-condoned farce of confrontation with fellow countrymen."
-Reuters
