The US has welcomed North Korea's decision to participate in next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea, saying this is an opportunity for Pyongyang to see the value of ending its international isolation by denuclearising.


North Korea yesterday decided to send athletes and cheerleaders to Winter Olympics in South Korea after the two countries held their first official talks in more than two years.


The breakthrough came after months of rising tensions over North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.


"The North Korean participation is an opportunity for the regime to see the value of ending its international isolation by denuclearising. We hope that we can continue to move forward on that front, but certainly doesn't affect our participation," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily press conference. Denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula is the number- one priority of the Trump administration, she said.