North Korea has notified South Korea that it will send an advance team this week to check facilities ahead of the North Korean Olympic squad's participation in the Winter Olympics next month.
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​South Korea's Unification Ministry said that Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Reunification of the Fatherland, sent a message on Sunday to Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon that notified its plan to dispatch a team to South Korea on Thursday.
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​The notice said that the eight-member advance team, led by a deputy director general at the North's Sports Ministry, will visit South Korea for three days beginning Thursday.
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​The team will reportedly check the accommodations for North Korean athletes, cheering squad and reporters, as well as the venues for the opening and closing ceremonies, sports facilities and press center.