The team headed by Lee Joo-tae, director-general for the inter-Korean exchange and cooperation in the Ministry of Unification, entered North Korea via Donghae Highway Transit Office at the East Sea Line at 10 a.m. The same route, which had been abandoned since 2015, will be used for their return on Thursday afternoon.

Throughout the trip, they will visit the Kumagangsan area, Masikryong Ski Resort and military airfield, all clustered in the eastern region of North Korea.

“(On the first day,) the delegation will first inspect the Kumgangsan area, then move to the Masikryong Ski Resort,” a senior government official here told the press on Tuesday, while hinting that the team may return to the mountain area on the last day of the trip.

A specific itinerary is yet to be released.

The official added that a special inter-Korean communication line was installed in the Masikryong resort to communicate with operators in the South. The official added that due to the lack of a security system on the line, communications will be limited.

The visit marks the first time the South Korean government officials set foot in North Korea in nearly two years. Inter-Korean exchanges have been largely severed since February 2016, when South Korea shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex on allegations its revenues were funding the North’s nuclear weapons program.

The South Korean officials were due to check a performance hall and other facilities in the Kumgangsan resort, where a joint cultural event will be held.

The cross-border tour program to the mountain was suspended in 2008 following an incident where a North Korean soldier shot and killed a South Korean tourist.

The team‘s next stop is the Masikryong Ski Resort where the slopes and facilities will be inspected ahead of a joint training of skiiers from the South and the North. North Korea recently ramped up its promotion of the slopes through its state-media and invited US broadcaster NBC to film the site.

The delegation will also see whether the training could focus on both alpine and cross-country skiing. North Korea said it will compete in both events.

The South’s Korea Ski Association hinted that it would send members of the national youth team for the training instead of those competing in the Winter Games. The North is expected to make a similar choice.

The final stop of the three-day visit will be Kalma Airport, a military airfield that could be used to transport South Korean ski trainees to Masikryong. The official said two aviation experts were dispatched to check the airfield and expressed concerns about the condition of the site.

The trip closely follows a visit here by a North Korean delegation led by Hyon Song-wol, chief of the 140-member Samjiyon Orchestra. The team looked into candidate venues for its art troupe’s performances in Seoul and Gangneung, Gangwon Province.

South Korea has suggested that the art troupe hold one of its two proposed performances on the eve of the Feb. 9-28 PyeongChang Winter Olympics or on opening day, according to the official.

Hyon voiced hope that the two Koreas could cooperate in preparing for the performances, added the official.

But the official also said Hyon didn’t explain why the art troupe inspection team’s trip was postponed.

Hyon’s delegation had been expected in South Korea on Saturday, but North Korea canceled that plan Friday night before it proposed a two-day trip starting Sunday.

Another North Korean inspection team is due in the South on Thursday, the day the South Korean delegation returns from the North, to inspect Olympic stadiums and accommodations.

The South’s Moon administration has been hoping that the North’s presence at the Winter Games would lead to further dialogue and talks for denuclearization.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)