MOSCOW, January 9. /TASS/. /TASS/. Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), welcomed North Korea’s proposal to send a high-ranking delegation to the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea’s PyeongChang, Insidethegames sports web portal reported on Tuesday.

The first round of the dialogue to normalize relations between Seoul and Pyongyang was held on Tuesday. The inter-Korean negotiations, which are the first since December 2015, focus on practical moves to repair relations between North and South Korea, including the possible performance of North Korea’s athletes at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

North Korea proposed on Tuesday to send a delegation of high-ranking officials and others, including athletes, cheering and performing art squads, taekwondo demonstration teams and journalists, to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.

"The International Olympic Committee warmly welcomes the proposals on which the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have agreed upon," Insidethegames cited IOC President Bach as saying.

"These proposals mark a great step forward in the Olympic spirit," the IOC president said adding that "Now the IOC is waiting for the official reports and the official proposals from the Tuesday meeting."

The upcoming Olympics, which are 23rd Winter Games, will take place in South Korea’s PyeongChang on February 9-25, 2018.