North Korea sending athletes, delegation to Winter Olympics

North Korea on Tuesday said it will send a delegation to the Winter Olympics next month in Pyeongchang, South Korea, according to multiple reports.

The country said during talks with its southern neighbor that it would send a group of athletes, high-ranking officials and a cheer squad to the games, Reuters reported.

The news comes as representatives for the two countries met on the border in Panmunjom, after Seoul last week had proposed talks ahead of the upcoming Winter Games.

{mosads}“We came to this meeting today with the thought of giving our brethren, who have high hopes for this dialogue, invaluable results as the first present of the year,” said Ri Son Gwon, the leader of the North Korean delegation for the talks, as reported by Reuters.

South Korea reportedly suggested that the two countries have their athletes walk together during the opening ceremony of the games.

The meeting between the two countries comes after a year of heightened concern over Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.

President Trump last week suggested that he is responsible for the talks between the Korean peninsula neighbors.

Last Saturday, he said he would like to see North Korea “involved” in the winter games.

“I’d like to see them getting involved in the Olympics and maybe things go from there. So I’m behind that 100 percent,” the president told reporters at Camp David.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), however, said in a tweet earlier this year that the U.S. should boycott the Winter Games if North Korea sends a delegation.

Allowing Kim Jong Un’s North Korea to participate in #WinterOlympics would give legitimacy to the most illegitimate regime on the planet.

I’m confident South Korea will reject this absurd overture and fully believe that if North Korea goes to the Winter Olympics, we do not.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 1, 2018

–This report was updated at 7:34 a.m.