Yuna Kim, a South Korean figure skater who won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, ignited the Olympic cauldron for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics on Friday night in a bitterly cold opening ceremony that highlighted Korean unity.
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Before the 2018 Winter Olympics began in PyeongChang, South Korea, weak ticket sales plagued the Games amid domestic corporate and political scandals and concerns about escalating tensions with North Korea.
Athletes from the two countries marched side by side during the opening ceremony and have formed a joint women’s hockey team.
The Sochi bronze victor Switzerland won their opener at the women’s ice hockey tournament at the PyeongChang Olympics on Saturday night with an overwhelming 8-0 win over a unified Korean women’s ice hockey team, first of its kind in the Olympics history.
The 2018 Winter Olympics games gets underway at 6 A.M. on Friday, Feb. 9, in PyeongChang, South Korea.
He took with him the parents of Otto Warmbier, the university student who died late past year after suffering horrific injuries while in North Korean detention, and promised more sanctions against Pyongyang. Moon, who was seated in front of the North Korean delegation, was photographed shaking hands with a smiling Kim.
Protesters march in downtown Seoul to criticize North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on February 10, 2018.
Over the past 60 years or so, more than 31,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence left South Korea Saturday saying the U.S. and its allies are more committed than ever to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear and missile development programs.
The last summit was held in October 2007 between Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Jong Il, the father of the current North Korean leader.
“The entire world is watching us here today and expectations on both Koreas are high”, Moon said.
Moon recalled his past visit to the North’s Diamond Mountain resort, where he and his mother met his North Korean aunt during a temporary reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
Pence reportedly tried to present a picture of himself, Moon, Abe together, emphasizing their strong alliance against the North.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has invited his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in to visit at the “earliest possible date”, via a message delivered by Kim’s sister Saturday.
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There was also “the vision of peace in the sky” which was a constellation inside the arena, while “the balance of yin and yang” saw Korean drummers perform in unison before forming the South Korea flag.
