Amid uncertainties over American athletes' participation in the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics, officials in Seoul highlighted that the U.S. president has already promised to send the U.S. national team to the games. 

An official at the South Korean presidential office said Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump had given his word during a prior phone call with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
 
The remarks come after U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday that it's an "open question" whether American athletes will take part in the February games.

[Sound bite: U.S. Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley]
"There's an open question. I have not heard anything about that, but I do know in the talks that we have -- whether it's Jerusalem or North Korea -- it's about, how do we protect the U.S. citizens in the area?"

Following her remarks, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders wrote in a tweet on Thursday that "the U.S. looks forward to participating in the Winter Games in South Korea." 

However, the White House spokeswoman was unclear if the U.S. athletes are coming as she added that the protection of Americans is Washington' top priority.

The top office official added that the U.S. Olympic Committee(USOC) had announced two months ago that it will be sending teams to the PyeongChang Olympics and Paralympics. 

Following Haley's comments, USOC Spokesman Mark Jones said in a statement that the committee has not had any discussions, either internally or with U.S. government partners, about the possibility of not taking part in the PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. He then said the committee plans on supporting two full delegations to PyeongChang.