North Korean cheerleaders in high spirits on Olympic arrivalNorth Korean cheerleaders in high spirits on Olympic arrivalMore than 200 North Korean cheerleaders sporting matching scarlet coats and beaming smiles arrived in South Korea Wednesday ahead of the Pyeongchang Olympics.
The 229 young women were among a 280-member delegation who crossed the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas at the Dorasan border post north of Seoul.
The cheerleaders were immediately ushered onto a convoy of buses and taken to their hotel in Inje county, a sparsely-populated rural town located 120 kilometres from the Games venue in Pyeongchang.
Each donning the same coat and dark hat worn by the North's art troupe, who arrived the previous day, the cheerleaders were jovial as they piled through the South's immigration control, exchanging comments with a horde of South Korean journalists.
"I am happy to see you," said one, beaming broadly.
Asked about their cheering routines, she joked: "You just wait. If I tell you now, it would be less exciting when you see it."
The cheerleaders are reportedly the product of a careful selection process, screening for their family backgrounds, looks, skills and loyalty to the ruling Workers' Party.
The North has sent cheer squads 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.
One of those in the 2005 group, Ri Sol-Ju, went on to become the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
- 'Nice to meet you' -
The cheerleaders were given a quick bathroom break at a rest area in Gapyeong, located about halfway to their destination.
The smart young women strutted past swooning South Koreans, who quickly snapped out their smartphones for photos of the rare sight.
In the bathroom, the cheerleaders stood side by side in front of the mirror, each checking and fixing their make-up while chatting among themselves.
Banners welcoming the North's Olympic participation lined the hilly drive up to the Inje Speedium, a four-star luxury resort with a car racing theme park.
Surrounded by mountains and seemingly secluded, the resort is seen as an ideal spot for enforcing tight security while at the same time maintaining close surveillance on the large group of Northerners.
But hours before the arrival of the guests, the hotel was bustling with media and police officers who had put barriers up at all entrances to the resort.
The sprightly cheerleaders got off the bus one by one and scurried past the media, who fired questions at the young visitors ranging from their condition to the chilly weather.
Most quickly walked into the building without saying a word but some occasionally smiled and waved at the camera, and said: "Nice to meet you."
With only 10 North Korean athletes competing for their country at the Games, and another 12 on the roster of a unified Korean women's ice hockey team, the cheerleaders will reportedly support South Korean athletes when none of their own are in action.
The delegation, led by Pyongyang's sports minister Kim Il-Guk, also includes three other officials from the National Olympic Committee, 26 taekwondo demonstrators and 21 journalists.
The Olympics have triggered a rapid rapprochement on the divided Korean peninsula, after the nuclear-armed North's leader Kim Jong-Un expressed a willingness to participate in his New Year speech.
The two Koreas held a rare high-level meeting last month and the North's ceremonial head of state is due to arrive Friday, the highest-level Pyongyang official ever to visit the South.
South Korea's unification ministry said Kim Jong-Un's sister, Kim Yo-Jong, a senior member of the ruling Workers' Party, will also be part of the delegation.
But critics in the South allege the North has been allowed to hijack the Pyeongchang Games, dubbing them the Pyongyang Olympics instead.