North Korea will send a high-level delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics' closing ceremony.

According to the Unification Ministry in Seoul, North Korea on Thursday notified that Kim Yong-chol, vice chief of the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party, will visit South Korea on Sunday leading the delegation for a three-day trip.

The ministry said that the eight-member delegation, including Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, will visit South Korea using the inter-Korean transit office on the Gyeongui Line on the western border.

The ministry said it will accept the delegation's trip under the judgment that its participation in the Olympics' closing ceremony will help improve inter-Korean relations and settle peace on the Korean Peninsula.

However, Kim's visit is also expected to stir controversy as he is subject to Seoul's independent sanctions and is suspected of having orchestrated the sinking of the South Korean naval ship Cheonan in 2010.