An ice sculpture of the Olympic rings is seen during the Pyeongchang Winter Festival, near the venue for the opening and closing ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games. (Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

On a day when North Korea accused the United States of declaring war, the U.S. Olympic team declared indifference.

As rhetoric and tension escalated once more between North Korea and the United States, U.S. Olympians and the United States Olympic Committee expressed scant security concern about participating in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February, which will take place 50 miles from the North Korean border.

"Candidly, the reports that we're getting from PyeongChang are fairly positive in terms of the potential for crime and assault," USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said Monday. "We actually feel really good about this one, because the things we do have an ability to control seem to be progressing."

"Should the unthinkable happen and there's conflict between nations, that's not an issue for the U.S. Olympic Committee to get involved in," Blackmun added. "Then it becomes an issue for the IOC and our nations to make decisions. So we're preparing as if we're going to go."

The tone contrasted to news reports that surfaced earlier Monday, when North Korea foreign minister Ri Yong Ho told reporters in New York that President Trump had declared war on his country and asserted the country's right to shoot down U.S. war planes even outside of North Korean airspace.

At Monday's Team USA Media Summit, athletes mostly brushed off fears of competing in South Korea. Blackmun said he had not heard hesitation from any of the competitors — "not a single one," he said. In interviews, athletes affirmed a relaxed view.

[U.S. Olympians face political balancing act ahead of next year’s Winter Games]

The athletes, many of whom lived through similar fears prior to the 2014 Sochi Games, placed their trust in USOC and government officials to provide protection and evaluate potential danger. They took comfort in prior Olympic experience, the government's ability to monitor threats and the power of the Olympics ultimately to dissuade attacks.

"The proximity is close, but from what I understand, the Olympics is one of the safest places that you can be in in terms of heightened security," biathlete Lowell Bailey said. "I really do trust that the Olympic Committee and the State Department are all very diligent and would never put their athletes in harm's way. I wouldn't say it's something I never think about, but I'm confident we're in good hands."

Bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor agreed with Bailey's belief that officials would keep athletes safe. She also found assurance in the ramifications of a North Korean act of war during the Olympics.

"It's a worldwide event," Meyers Taylor said. "There's going to be athletes from all over the world: Chinese, Russian. So if you do something at the Olympic Games, you're not just messing with the U.S. I know a lot of the political climate is aimed at the U.S. I feel confident people don't want to piss off certain other countries."

Alpine skier Jackie Wiles had no hesitation about going to PyeongChang despite a close family connection to the military: Her father, David, served in the military. When he traveled to Russia for Sochi 2014, Jackie Wiles said, he required an extra background check to enter the country. It was nerve-wracking for Wiles, but she is still not sweating South Korea.

"It's a scary topic, but I'm trying not to focus on it too much," Wiles said. "As an athlete, my job is to be focused on the best I can do. I have trust in our governing body they'll do what's right. I haven't put too much attention in, honestly."

Legendary snowboarder Kelly Clark noted her first Olympics, in Salt Lake City, came on U.S. soil five months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"I've been to a wide variety of Olympics with a wide variety of security concerns," Clark said. "Based on my experience, I'm very confident that the U.S. will make the right decisions to keep the athletes safe."

Clark was not aware of the latest news, which typified the awareness of her fellow U.S. Olympians. They feel content to let others worry about safety issues, too focused on training for any other approach.

"For me, the Olympic qualifying process is so intense and requires so much from me that I'll trust the people making those decisions, and I'll focus on my sport," Clark said.

France's minister of sport said its Olympic team would stay home if security could not be guaranteed, although other French officials walked back those remarks. "It's highly unlikely they wouldn't participate in these Games," USOC Chairman Larry Probst said.

The U.S. found relative comfort in knowing any global event will come with security concerns. Organizers faced grave concerns about potential terrorist attacks in Sochi. Before the Rio de Janeiro Games last summer, a handful of athletes waffled about going or bringing their families amidst a Zika virus outbreak. In both cases, the fears dissipated as the Olympics progressed and did not come to fruition.

"These games are really no different than any other games in terms of our preparation," Blackmun said.

"Things are going on just business as usual," alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin said. "For sure, they'll continue to reevaluate as we get closer. The Olympics is maybe one of the safest places to be because there's so much security around it, and it's a hot topic anyway, no matter what's going on in the world. So I'm not too concerned right now.

"I think it is unusual. But I also thought that Sochi was unusual when we were going into those Olympics. So we'll see what's happening as we get closer. At least what we've been told right now is there's no reason to be concerned and just focus on our sports and take it as it comes."

Shiffrin's teammate, Julia Mancuso, traveled to PyeongChang with a large delegation of athletes in February for a training exercise. She felt a measure of alarm before the trip but loved it so much and felt so safe she is considering returning to South Korea on vacation. She even joked when asked whether she had any hesitation about bringing her family.

"Not really," Mancuso said. "You could be like, 'If you go down, we're going down together.' "

Snowboarder Chloe Kim also traveled to PyeongChang in February for the training event. She came away with an observation far removed from geopolitics.

"They know how to build a halfpipe over there," Kim said. "It wasn't sketchy at all."