(LEAD) (Olympics) N. Korean cheerleaders visit exhibition, perform in PyeongChang

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details; CHANGES photo and ADDS new one)

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korean cheerleaders toured an exhibition on an historic royal palace and staged a woodwind and brass band performance in PyeongChang, the unification ministry said Saturday.

The cheer squad is currently staying in South Korea to support North Korean athletes competing in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

They took a break in the afternoon to visit an exhibition in a nearby high school that displays a digital replica of the royal palace Manwoldae from the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392), which was located in the North Korean border city of Kaesong. The exhibition, including a 3-D recreation of its main building, is based on the results of an inter-Korean joint excavation project launched in 2007.

Seoul had suggested the two Koreas jointly hold an exhibition to display relics unearthed at the site. But the North declined the offer and requested the two discuss the matter after the Olympics end, the ministry said.

"The visit to the exhibition by North Koreans will serve as an opportunity to help them feel that the two Koreas share the same cultural heritage," the ministry said.

After the visit, they held a performance of woodwind and brass instrument music for about half an hour at Korea Sangji Daegwallyeong High School near the PyeongChang Olympic Plaza.

It was their fourth such performance. Since they arrived in the South on Feb. 7, the 80-strong band has also performed in Gangneung at the Gangneung Olympic Village on Feb. 8; at Ojukheon, the birth home of a prominent 16th century Confucian scholar and artist mother, on Feb. 13; and at the Olympic Park on Feb. 15.

The performers, wearing red jackets and matching hats and white pants, play a medley of songs, including the Korean folk song of "Arirang," to the sounds of instruments like flutes, clarinets and saxophones.

"It was fascinating to see people from North Korea for the first time. The performance featured North Korea's strong but restrained movements," Park Min-jung, a spectator who watched the show, said.

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