Flags of participating nations for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games fly at Gangneung Olympic Village in Gangneung, Gangwon province, on Feb. 1, 2018. (Photo: Yonhap News)
Seoul (VNA) - Olympic athletes from the Democratic People’sRepublic of Korea (DPRK) arrived in the Republic of Korea (RoK) on February 1 forthe upcoming PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.
The 32-strong delegation, including 10 athletes, landed at theYangyang 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 forall ice events, located just east of PyeongChang.
After clearing customs, the DPRK athletes left the airportshortly after 7 pm and headed straight to the Gangneung Olympic Village, whichmainly accommodates athletes in ice sports.
Led by its Vice Sports Minister Won Kil-u, the delegationincludes three alpine skiers, three cross-country skiers, two figure skatersand two short track speed skaters.
A dozen women's ice hockey players, along with threeofficials, came to the RoK on Jan 25 to start training with 23 local athletes aspart of a historic unified team.
The Koreas agreed on the DPRK participation in PyeongChang2018, the first Winter Olympics to take place in the Republic of Korea, on January17. Three days later, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved theDPRK participation and said it will accredit 22 athletes and 24 officials from theDPRK.
The DPRK and RoK hockey players will play Sweden in apre-Olympic tuneup match at 6 pm on February 4 in Incheon, just west of Seoul.They will travel to Gangneung after the game.-VNA
VNA
