Seoul has welcomed a planned visit to the South by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister, saying it shows Pyongyang’s will to ease inter-Korean tensions.

Presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyum said in a media briefing on Wednesday that it is significant that the regime is sending Kim Yo-jong, who plays an important role in the North’s ruling Workers’ Party. 

The spokesman said the top office also assesses that her upcoming visit reflects the the North's will to ease tensions on the peninsula and to congratulate the South on its hosting of a Winter Olympics. 

He added the government will make sure that she and other members of the high-ranking delegation from Pyongyang will suffer no inconvenience during their stay in South Korea.

Early in the day, the North delivered to the South a list of its high-level delegation to the Winter Games, including the 28-year old deputy director of the propaganda department of the Workers' Party.