Carrying its art troupe,... the Mangyongbong-92, a North Korean ferry, arrived at a port on South Korea's east coast on Tuesday ,.. ahead of their joint celebratory events for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
And more are coming today via the western land route,... comprised of Olympic Committee members, a cheerleading squad and members of the country's state-run media.
Ji Myung-kil has our top story.
The North Korean ferry, with the red letters "Mangyongbong 92,"... arrived Tuesday in South Korea at Mukho port in the city of Donghae on the east coast... carrying the North's Samjiyon art troupe.

The Mangyongbong is a 97-hundred ton cargo-passenger ferry named after a hill in Pyongyang near the birthplace of North Korea's late founder Kim Il-sung.

Seoul has temporarily lifted its ban on North Korean ships entering its waters to allow the ship to come.
The Mangyongbong 92 itself is not one of the North Korean vessels blacklisted by the United Nations or the U.S. on suspicion of involvement in Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

The North Korean troupe will be using the ship as lodging during the concert period in Gangneung and is also a way for the North to keep the artists from having contact with South Koreans.

The North Korean artists will perform on Thursday in the city of Gangneung on the eve of the Winter Olympics.
Gangneung is hosting Olympic events including women's ice hockey in which the two Koreas will compete as a joint team... a first in Olympic history.
The troupe will perform again on Sunday at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul.

More North Koreans will be arriving in the South Wednesday morning via the western land route.
The 2-hundred-eighty member delegation consists of four officials from the North's national Olympic committee, 229 cheerleaders, 26 taekwondo demonstrators and 21 journalists.
Ji Myung-kil, Arirang News.