North Korean athletes will be able to compete in the 2017 Asian Winter Games slated to be held in Sapporo, Japan, beginning February 19th.

Citing multiple Tokyo officials, Japan's Kyodo News reported on Monday that the Japanese government will make an exception to its current entry ban of North Koreans to allow the facilitation of sports exchanges.

The report noted that the Japanese government imposed the entry ban as part of its own sanctions slapped on Pyongyang for conducting nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches.

Kyodo said that the Japanese government will conduct a thorough screening on officials who will accompany the North Korean athletes, requiring them to submit documents to verify their identity and jobs.

The North Korean women’s national football team was also approved to enter Japan in February of last year to compete in the preliminaries for the Brazil Summer Olympics.

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