North Korea agrees to join Winter Olympics in South Korea as tensions ease

North Korea will send a team of athletes and officials to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games taking place in South Korea’s Pyeongchang in February, both sides said on Tuesday.

“The North Korean side will dispatch a National Olympic Committee delegation, athletes, cheerleaders, art performers’ squad, spectators, a Taekwondo demonstration team and a press corps and the South will provide necessary amenities and facilities,” North and South Korea officials said in a joint statement.

The major announcement came as North Korea and South Korea on Tuesday met for their first high-level delegation talks after more than two years.

In a televised New Year speech, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un had said that he will consider sending a team to South Korea for Winter Olympic Games in February.

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Responding to Kim’s gesture, South Korean president Moon Jae-in had termed Kim’s New Year offer as "ground-breaking chance" to improve ties and offered high-level delegation talks with North Korea.

Apart from the Olympic participation, some other issues were also discussed during the high-level meeting held in Panmunjom "peace village" in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) at the border.

South Korean officials said the military hotline between the two neighbours, suspended for almost two years, will resume from Wednesday.

South Korea also proposed the reunion of families separated by the Korean War. This has been a highly emotional issue for both North and South Korea. The reunion will take place during the Lunar New Year holiday.

To facilitate the North's participation in the Olympics, the South said it will consider temporarily lifting relevant sanctions, in co-ordination with the UN.