By Kim Bo-eun

North Korea informed South Korea that it could send a large-scale artistic troupe to the South for performances ahead of the PyeongChang Olympics via the sanctioned ferry Mangyongbong-92, Tuesday.

Sanctions imposed by the government on May 24, 2010, include a ban on the entry of North Korean vessels into South Korean waters. It placed the sanctions on Pyongyang for the sinking of the South Korean Navy frigate Cheonan, which killed 46 sailors, in March that year.

The government is expected to seek an exception for the ferry, as it did for a chartered airplane that brought North Korean athletes competing in the Games to the South last week.

The airplane, chartered from a South Korean airline, was exempted from the sanctions following talks between the government and the U.S. The sanctions ban any aircraft departing from North Korea from landing anywhere in the U.S. within a 180-day period.

"Sanctions against Pyongyang ban North Korean vessels from entering South Korean waters and ports but we are reviewing measures that will exempt the vessel from the sanctions to support a successful hosting of the PyeongChang Olympics," unification ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said in a briefing, Monday.

"Regarding vessel-related sanctions placed by the UN Security Council and the U.S., we will negotiate with the U.S. and the international community so that no measures are violated."

The members of the artistic troupe include a 140-member orchestra that will perform in Gangneung, Thursday, and in Seoul, Sunday.

The North wants the 9,700-ton vessel, which has a cafeteria, bathrooms and entertainment facilities, to serve as accommodation for the troupe during their stay in Gangneung, Gangwon Province.

Keeping the North Koreans in the vessel is also seen as a means to prevent them from learning about South Korea's capitalism and economic development through facilities and services in Gangneung.

However, as the troupe members will also be performing in Seoul, they will likely need accommodation in the city, which defeats the purpose of using the vessel.

There are views that Pyongyang's proposal to send the performers via the vessel is a means to test the government's determination in adhering to sanctions. Observers note that the North could be taking advantage of the currently thawing inter-Korean relations to ease sanctions and ultimately seek a rift in the Seoul-Washington alliance.

On Monday, 23 performers arrived in the South via a land route.

The North stated late Sunday it would send its nominal head of state Kim Yong-nam to lead the high-level North Korean delegation attending the PyeongChang Olympics.

Kim, 90, president of the Supreme People's Assembly, will be the highest ranking North Korean official to visit the South.

Cheong Wa Dae welcomed Kim's scheduled visit, Monday. The presidential office said it is yet to arrange a meeting between him and President Moon Jae-in.

Attention is growing as to whether Kim will meet with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence who will also be attending the opening ceremony for the Olympics.

Last week, President Moon proposed to U.S. President Donald Trump that Pyongyang-Washington talks could take place during the Olympics.

Moon and Pence will meet on the eve of the Olympics.