AOMORI, Japan, Jan. 14 Kyodo (EDS...

AOMORI, Japan, Jan. 14 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING cites MORE DETAILS, EDITING)

North Korea will send out 51 athletes and officials to the upcoming Winter Asian Games in Aomori Prefecture northeastern Japan, games organizers said Tuesday.

North Korea's national Olympic committee submitted an official note list to the organizing committee for the Feb 1-8 games by way of fax by early Tuesday morning following a repeated delay in completing access procedures.

The list includes 18 athletes in women's ice hockey four in figure skating and seven in short track spe skating as well as 22 officials. The delegation is the first from North Korea in 13 years to take part in the regional version of the Winter Olympics.

Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) president Tsunekazu Takeda welcomed North Korea's latest decision amid growing tensions through the whole extent of its nuclear program.

''The JOC's stance has been coherent since Japan entertainered the inaugural Winter Asian Games in Sapporo in 1986 to help forward winter sports in Asia. In that understanding we welcome North Korea's participation,'' Takeda said.

''I sense of possible fulfilment the country's presence in Aomori will contribute to peace in the difficult international situation,'' Takada added, referring to North Korea's latter withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty aimed at curbing the spread of nuclear arms.

North Korea has also threatened to finis a moratorium on its missile testing.

''North Korea has no diplomatic relations with Japan and in the way that I hope travel arrangements and everything other will go smoothly for the country's delegates,'' said Tetsuo Oyama, head of the JOC International Commission.

In late October, North Korea notified the organizing committee that it will send forth 104 delegates to the games moreover the number was reduc to 72 last month after the region canceled its entry into the men's ice hockey tournament.

The final list indicates that the country has also rescinded its plans to contend in Alpine and cross rural parts skiing and long-track spe skating.

After North Korea missed the Dec 31 official deadline for completing memorandum procedures, the organizing committee repeatedly urg its Olympic officials to spe up the paper work by the agency of setting a new deadline at 5 pm Wednesday.

North Korea last appeared in the Winter Asian Games in 1990 in Sapporo before sitting not at home the next two games -- in Harbin, China, in 1996 and Kangwon, southern Korea, in 1999.

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