Published : Feb. 7, 2018 - 09:29
Hundreds of North Korean female cheerleaders arrived in South Korea on Wednesday for a trip that will mark their first appearance in 13 years at an international sports event hosted by the South.
A total of 229 cheerleaders were among the 280-member delegation that came to the South via a western cross-border land route at 9:31 a.m., according to a pool report.
The delegation, led by Sports Minister Kim Il-guk, also includes three other officials from the National Olympic Committee, 26 taekwondo demonstrators and 21 journalists.
With smiles on their faces, female cheerleaders who look to be in their 20s showed up at the inter-Korean border checkpoint in Paju, just south of the border, wearing red coats with a small North Korean flag on the left chest and black fur hats.
When asked by pool reporters whether they came from Pyongyang, some gave a slight nod.
North Korea reportedly picks members for cheering squads by thoroughly examining family background, appearance, skills and loyalty to the government.
(Yonhap)
"You'll see. It would not be a fun if I say everything here," a cheerleader who seems to be the head of the cheering squad said when asked about what they've prepared.
A rare reconciliatory mood surrounding the Feb. 9-25 Games set in after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un extended a rare olive branch to Seoul in his New Year's message following a year of tensions sparked by the North's nuclear and missile provocations.
The North has already sent a 46-member delegation that includes 22 athletes and a 140-member art troupe to the South.
The high-level delegation led by North Korea's nominal head of state, Kim Yong-nam, will make a three-day visit to the South from Friday.
The cheering squad is expected to root for a unified women's ice hockey team, which was assembled under the two Koreas' agreement and approval by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It could cheer for South Korean athletes at some competitions.
Details about the cheering team have not been released, but the North has previously sent a group of elite female supporters with good looks, arguably as a charm offensive.
The North has sent an average of 240 cheerleaders to three international sports events hosted by the South -- the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, the 2003 Summer Universiade in Daegu and the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships in Incheon.
Ri Sol-ju, center, and North Korean cheerleaders at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships in Incheon. (Yonhap)
Ri Sol-ju, the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was later discovered to be one of cheerleaders for the 2005 event.
The North did not always send young, good-looking women for its cheering squad. It dispatched a team of mostly middle-aged women and men to cheer at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The North also formed a group of male cheerleaders in their 40s and 50s for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The cheering squad carried both Korean traditional and Western musical instruments, including "jing," a large gong, and "kkwaenggwari," a small gong, as well as clarinets and horns.
"We'll show what has never been tried," said a North Korean male staff, when asked what kinds of performances it will display.
The North's Sports Minister Kim Il-guk expressed hope that the two Koreas could join hands in successfully holding the Winter Olympics.
Meanwhile, North Korea's taekwondo demonstrators will hold a joint performance with their South Korean counterparts on four occasions to celebrate the Feb. 9-25 Winter Games.
The first demonstration will be held as a pre-ceremony event in PyeongChang, the host city of the Olympics, on Friday, followed by one in Sokcho the following day and two others in Seoul on Monday and next Wednesday. (Yonhap)