By Choi Ha-young

Gwangmyeong Mayor Yang Ki-dae, who recently met North Korean sports officials in Kunming, China, as part of an inter-Korean civic exchange program, said Thursday he is positive about the North's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Yang met the North Korean delegation, led by Moon Woong of the April 25 Sports Club, along with Choi Moon-soon, South Korean governor of Gangwon Province, where the Olympics will be held in February. They visited the Chinese city for the Ari Sports Cup under-15 tournament, from Dec. 18 to 21.

Moon is a vice minister-level official who is known to be an influential figure in the North Korean sports community.

"The North is highly likely to come to PyeongChang. I found they are very determined to come to the event based on their gestures," the mayor said.

The North Korean delegates were aware of the meeting with the South Koreans, as they gathered in China on the sidelines of the football competition, said the mayor, a member of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.

"The overall atmosphere of the talks was nice," he said. "In a welcoming banquet Monday, we officially invited North Korea to the Olympics and the North Korean delegates were all positive, with bright smiles."

During the four-day event organized by the South-North Sports Exchange Association, they met a few times behind closed doors. The meetings were possible since both parties prepared for them based on recent subtle changes, according to Yang.

On Tuesday, President Moon Jae-in said Seoul and Washington could postpone the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle drills, which are supposed to take place every spring. "I have made such a suggestion to the U.S. and the U.S. is currently reviewing it," the President told NBC news.

The cancellation of drills is tied to North Korea's halt of its nuclear and missile provocations, Moon noted. This is what China has consistently advocated, and has been dubbed "freeze for freeze."

Pundits say the North will not conduct further missile tests if the country has mastered its ballistic missile technology as it has boasted. Its intercontinental ballistic missile capacity to target the U.S. mainland has been considered a bargaining chip in envisioned negotiations with the U.S.