SEOUL: North Korea will send a high-level delegation to South Korea for the Winter Olympics closing ceremony, officials said on Thursday, including the man blamed for the 2010 sinking of a South Korean navy ship that killed 46 sailors.

The latest visit by officials from the normally reclusive North will coincide with a visit by a US delegation led by President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.

The North Korean delegation will be led by Kim Yong Chol, vice-chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, and will stay for three days from Sunday, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification said in a statement.

Kim also heads the United Front Department, the North Korean office responsible for handling inter-Korean affairs.

He was previously chief of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, a top North Korean military intelligence agency, which South Korea blamed for the deadly 2010 sinking of the Cheonan, a South Korean navy corvette.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said the torpedo attack on the boat was carried by the North but the government had not been able to confirm exactly who was responsible. North Korea denied having anything to do with the sinking.

“Kim is in charge of South Korea affairs, which is why we’re accepting him as we believe it would help improve inter-Korean relations and resolve the matter of denuclearisation”, Cho told parliament.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2018