South Korea has provided drinking water to those aboard the North Korean ship that carried the North's art troupe to the South earlier this week, a Seoul official said Thursday.

North Korea has asked South Korea to supply drinking water and fuel to the Mangyongbong-92, which has been anchored at the South Korean eastern port of Mukho since Tuesday after transporting its art troupe to the South.

"The South has provided drinking water to them, but not fuel. The government is currently in consultation on reviewing (whether to offer fuel)," said an official at South Korea's unification ministry.

The delivery of refined petroleum products to the North could be tricky, as the UN Security Council in December 2017 adopted sanctions that include a cap on exports of such goods to the North to 500,000 barrels per year.

It was not immediately made known how much the North has requested.

The ministry official said that the ship is using fuel that it has brought from the North to operate heaters.

The Samjiyon art troupe traveled to the South by ferry Tuesday to perform in celebration of the PyeongChang Winter Games on a rare trip that involved Seoul temporarily exempting a North Korean ship from its sanctions on sea travel to the South.

The official said that it is highly likely that the ferry would return home Friday, as the art troupe will move to Seoul for a concert slated for Sunday.

Meanwhile, it is still not known what transportation North Korea's high-level delegation will use for its trip to the South this week.

North Korea said Wednesday it would send Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of the North's leader Kim Jong-un, as a member of the high-level delegation led by the nominal head of state, Kim Yong-nam, to South Korea for a three-day visit starting Friday.

"It is known that an aircraft exclusively used by Kim Jong-un is not subject to (UN) sanctions," the ministry official said.(Yonhap)