( 4 th LD ) N . Korean delegation returns home after wrapping up 2 - day inspection stay ( ATTN : CORRECTS typo in dateline ) By Joint Press Corps and Park Boram SEOUL / GANGNEUNG , Jan . 22 ( Yonhap ) -- A North Korean delegation led by the powerful female head of a national orchestra returned home late Monday after touring concert halls in Seoul to inspect candidate venues for planned art performances during next month ' s PyeongChang Winter Olympics . Wrapping up a two - day stay , the North Korean inspection team led by Hyon Song - wol , the head of the Samjiyon Orchestra , passed through the customs , immigration and quarantine ( CIQ ) office at Dorasan Station , just south of the border , at around 9 : 53 p . m . Their last engagement in Seoul was to have dinner at a hotel . Hyon didn ' t say anything in response to reporters asking for comments when she and the other North Korean officials left for the North . Earlier in the day , a nonscheduled train took the seven - member team to Seoul from Gangneung , where they visited two candidate auditoriums on Sunday . Gangneung is a sub - host city of the games , 260 kilometers east of the capital . In Seoul , the team inspected three facilities -- the National Theater of Korea , Jangchung Arena and Jamsil Students ' Gymnasium -- on a mission to locate venues for North Korean art performances celebrating the upcoming Olympics . Touring the national theater as the final leg of the concert hall visit in Seoul , Hyon checked speakers and stage lights . She asked the operation staff to play orchestral music , and the theater officials played " Arirang , " a traditional Korean song , to test the audio systems . The delegation spent far more time inspecting the national theater than the two other venues , spawning speculation that it may be chosen for the North ' s musical performance in Seoul . Hyon Song - wol ( C ) tests the speakers in a music hall at the National Theater of Korea on Jan . 22 , 2018 . ( Joint Press Corp - Yonhap ) In a growing sign of detente on the Korean Peninsula , North Korea agreed to join the international sporting event and send a 140 - member art troupe to hold two concerts in Seoul and Gangneung , the first of their kind since 2002 , during a recent series of talks with the South . The delegation is expected to report the results of their two - day inspection to the North Korean government , which will make the final decision on when and where its proposed art performances will be staged . Surrounded by South Korean officials and guards , Hyon Song - wol enters Jangchung Arena in central Seoul on the second day of her delegation ' s two - day stay in South Korea on Jan . 22 , 2018 . ( Yonhap ) Clad in a long , dark coat matched with a stylish fox fur scarf , Hyon , who is rumored to be an ex - girlfriend of North Korean leader Kim Jong - un , remained low - profile while touring the auditorium , refraining from responding to journalists ' frequent questions . A crowd of citizens gathered in front of a hotel in Gangneung as the delegates were having breakfast on Monday morning . A group of conservative protesters were waiting for the North Korean delegation at Seoul Station as the train carrying them arrived . The protesters burned leader Kim ' s picture and the North Korean flag in opposition to North Korea ' s Olympic participation . As the North Korean team left Gangneung for Seoul earlier in the day , Hyon told a South Korean official , " I feel like the concerts will be successful thanks to these welcoming citizens in Gangneung . " On Sunday , the North ' s delegation crossed the land border via the Gyeongui Line , becoming the first North Koreans to travel to the South since the launch of the Moon Jae - in administration in May last year . It ' s also the first time that the inter - Korean route has been opened since the shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in early 2016 . The North Korean delegation ' s visit is part of inter - Korean exchanges of working - level visits agreed on by the two Koreas for joint celebrations of the Olympics . South Korea will send its own inspection team to North Korea on Tuesday to the Mount Kumgang area and to Masikryong Ski Resort in the east of North Korea , where they agreed to hold a joint cultural event and ski training . The 12 - member team will stay in the North for three days after crossing the inter - Korean land border . pbr @ yna . co . kr ( END )