The chief organiser of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea has offered to open a land route for North Korean athletes if they decide to compete south of the border.

The Yonhap news agency reported Lee Hee-beom, head of the Winter Olympics’ organising committee, as saying that North Koreans would be welcome at the Games, and that they could even be offered passage through the 4km-wide demilitarized zone, which has separated the two halves of the Korean peninsula since 1953.

“South Korea will welcome North Korea and when they decide to come, the South Korean government will allow them to come by road,” Lee was quoted saying by Reuters.

“And when they have supporting teams, the (South) Korean government will allow them to come by ship. All nations are very welcome, including North Korea.”

North Korean athletes competing in the South usually fly to the country via Beijing.