N. Korea selects 2 concert venues in S.K. ahead of Olympics

SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has selected two concert venues in South Korea for its proposed art performances celebrating the PyeongChang Winter Olympics next month, the unification ministry said Tuesday. In a message sent to South Korea on Tuesday night, North Korea said its art troupe hopes to perform at the Gangneung Arts Center in Gangneung on Feb. 8 and at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul on Feb. 11, the ministry said. Gangneung, a coastal city located about 260 kilometers east of Seoul, is one of the Olympic venues along with nearby PyeongChang. North Korea said its delegation plans to cross the land border into South Korea on Feb. 6 for the concerts before returning home on Feb. 12, according to the message, which was released by the ministry. The North's message is similar to what the two Koreas consulted on during a recent trip to South Korea by a North Korean delegation. The seven-member delegation led by Hyon Song-wol, head of the North's Samjiyon Orchestra, looked around candidate concert venues in Seoul and Gangneung. In the message, North Korea also said it will send a 15-member ice hockey team -- 12 athletes, a head coach and two support personnel -- to South Korea on Jan. 25 along with its advance team to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the ministry said. The North's offer came after South Korea proposed that a unified women's hockey team of the two Koreas could quickly hold exercises in the South in an apparent move to build teamwork. The North has agreed to join the Olympics slated for Feb. 9-25 and the 10-day Paralympics that start on March 9 in a surprise overture amid tension over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. On Jan. 20, the International Olympic Committee announced that the North will send 22 athletes to the PyeongChang Games in three sports -- skating, skiing and ice hockey. North Korea has said it plans to send a 140-member art performance group, consisting of an orchestra, singers and dancers, for concerts in Seoul and Gangneung. kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr (END)