NKorea to send 230 cheer squad to Olympics

North Korea will send around 230 people as a single cheering squad to the Winter Olympics in the South next month, South Korea's unification ministry says.

The announcement came after officials from the two Koreas held talks in the border village of Panmunjom on Wednesday.

The ministry said the two sides exchanged opinions on several issues, including the size of the North Korean team, joint cultural events and use of the Masikryong ski report in North Korea.

Pyongyang also offered to send a delegation to the Paralympics in Pyeongchang in March, South Korean media reported.

"The North informed the South of its broad plan to send a delegation to the Winter Games and the Paralympics," a ministry official said.

The Paralympics will take place from March 9 to 18.

Last week, during the first face-to-face talks with Seoul since 2015, North Korea pledged to send a delegation of athletes and high-level officials to Pyeongchang for the Games which take place from February 9 to 25.

The ministry official said North Korea proposed its Olympic delegation travel to south across the heavily fortified land border. Such a border crossing would be a highly emotional event garnering global attention.

The North has said its delegation would also include high-level officials, journalists, a taekwondo demonstration team and an art troupe along with athletes.

Despite its plans to send big cheering and artistic groups, no North Korean athletes are officially qualified to come to Pyeongchang though the Intentional Olympic Committee recently said it has "kept the door open" for North Korea to take part in the games.

The International Olympic Committee is to meet with sports and government officials from the two Koreas and officials from the Pyeongchang organising committee at its headquarters in Switzerland on Saturday.