Sport

North and South Korean Athletes March Together at 2018 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony

The Winter Olympics opened today. The theme for the event is peace and athletes from North and South Korea walked in unison for the first time in 11 years. South Korea's President Moon Jae-in described these Games as a "festival and celebration of peace.“ The show of unity was not lost on International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, who said North and South Korea had set a "great example" for sending "a powerful message of peace." The lead up to these Winter Olympics has been dominated by relations between two nations still technically at war. After a year of escalating hostility over Pyongyang's ballistic missile program, this Olympics has given the two countries reason to talk again. As the Korean athletes marched together, President Moon shook hands with Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. She is the first member of Pyongyang's ruling dynasty to set foot in the rival country since the war. To add to the political intrigue, US Vice President Mike Pence, sitting a few seats away in the same VIP booth, looked stony faced as the ceremony unfolded. When the North and South Korean athletes emerged, representatives from both countries held the flag of a unified Korean peninsula and they were greeted to an ovation from 35,000 cheering spectators.