US President Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, departed for South Korea Thursday to attend the closing of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics as speculation swirled over her possible contact with North Korean officials during the trip.

Ivanka Trump, who serves as a senior adviser to the president, will lead the US delegation to Sunday's closing ceremony, and according to an airline official, boarded a Korean Air flight to Seoul earlier in the day.

Hours after the US announced her visit Wednesday, North Korea said it would also send a high-level delegation headed by Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.

The White House said in its announcement that the first daughter plans to cheer American athletes competing in the Games and reaffirm the strength of the South Korea-US alliance. She does not plan to meet with North Korean officials or defectors during her four-day stay, it said.

Still, the possibility of contact between Ivanka Trump and the North Korean delegation has been raised, especially after it was revealed that US Vice President Mike Pence was to meet with North Korean officials after the Feb. 9 opening ceremony, until the North abruptly pulled out.

Trump is scheduled to have dinner with South Korean President Moon Jae-in Friday, which could be an opportunity to deliver a personal message from her father.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un invited Moon to visit Pyongyang through his younger sister, Yo-jong, who was part of the North Korean delegation to the opening ceremony.

The Olympics have created an opening for reconciliation between the Koreas after years of heightened tensions over the North's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

Last year North Korea tested three intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the US as well as its sixth and most powerful nuclear weapon.

Seoul hopes the current mood will help Washington and Pyongyang resolve their standoff over the weapons programs.

"I am honored to lead the US delegation to the closing ceremonies of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics," Ivanka Trump said in a statement Wednesday. "We look forward to congratulating Team USA and celebrating all that our athletes have achieved. Their talent, drive, grit and spirit embodies American excellence, and inspire us all."

The US delegation also includes White House press secretary Sarah Sanders; Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander of US Forces Korea; Sen. James Risch (R-ID), chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism; Marc Knapper, charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Seoul; and Sgt. Shauna Rohbock, a former Olympic bobsledder and current member of the US Army National Guard.(Yonhap)