North Korea's Olympic representative said Saturday it was "likely to participate" in next month's Winter Games in South Korea, Kyodo news agency reported, in the latest sign of a thaw in tensions on the peninsula.

The news comes as South Korea says it will roll out the red carpet for North Korea's Olympic delegation, with the governor of the province hosting the games even offering to send a cruise ship to Wonsan to collect the North's athletes, officials and "cheering squad".

There is growing concern, however, that the South is acting hastily in conceding too much - such as postponing joint military exercises with the US - and that the North will increase its demands when the two sides meet at Panmunjom on Tuesday.

In its January 3 editorial, titled "We won't get fooled again", the JoongAng Daily stated that Kim Jong-un's offer to participate in the Pyeongchang games, "is a highly calculated move to fuel internal division in South Korea".