North Korea will send an eight-member delegation to South Korea on Thursday, along with its 15 ice hockey team members who will join the South to form an inter-Korean Olympic team. 

In a message sent late Tuesday, North Korea notified Seoul that it will dispatch the advance team along with 12 ice hockey players, a coach and two support personnel.

The advance team headed by Yoon Yong-bok, a deputy director at North Korea‘s Sports Ministry, and the ice hockey team members are expected to cross the western land border to visit South Korea. 
 
The notice came hours after South Korea's Unification Ministry asked the North to speed up joint training of the unified women’s ice hockey team for the Winter Games.

The eight-member advance team will reportedly look around accommodations, stadiums and venues for the opening and closing ceremonies and the site for the North's Taekwondo demonstration during their three-day trip.