Seoul: South Korea welcomed an upcoming visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, for the Winter Olympics, Seoul’s presidential Blue House said on Wednesday.

Pyongyang notified Seoul that Kim Yo Jong would be accompanying Kim Yong Nam, North Korea’s nominal head of state, along with two other senior officials, to attend the opening ceremony of Games on Friday, according to the South’s Unification Ministry.

The announcement shows Pyongyang’s resolve to defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula as Kim Yo Jong is the sister of the leader and has a significant position in the ruling Workers’ Party, Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a news briefing.