The athlete delegations of North and South Korea marched together on Friday, under one flag, in the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics. During the event, South Korea's president, Moon Jae-in, and his wife, Kim Jung-sook, shook hands with Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, who traveled south to witness the ceremony and meet with officials in a gesture of peace between the two countries.

Read more: Curtain rises on Pyeongchang Winter Olympics

Kim Yo Jong is the only member of North Korea's ruling family to have visited South Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War. She and the athletes are the most prominent North Koreans to cross the border.

Spectators took to their feet when North and South Korean athletes entered the Olympic stadium together

Diplomacy at the games

The historic handshake topped off a day of diplomacy between the two Koreas. Kim Yo Jong was accompanied on her trip by Kim Yong Nam, North Korea's parliamentary head and ceremonial head of state. Both were greeted at the airport by South Korea's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon.

For security reasons, few details of Kim Yo Jong's three-day itinerary have been made public, but it is expected that she and Kim Yong Nam will meet with Moon on Saturday for lunch.

The high-profile visit and the North Korean athletic delegation are part of a recent diplomatic push, spearheaded by the North, to ease tensions and bolster unity between the two nations.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also met with Kim Yong Nam, according to a UN spokesman on Friday.

Guterres "reiterated his expectation and hope that all parties will use dialogue to achieve the peaceful denuclearization of the peninsula," the spokesman added.

Read more: In Seoul, Germany's Steinmeier warns Koreas that reunification needed luck, and hard work

Mike Pence avoids the North Korean delegation

Prior to the opening ceremony, Kim Yong Nam attended a dinner for visiting foreign dignitaries hosted by Moon, where US Vice President Mike Pence was in attendance.

Read more: North Korea has 'no intention' to meet US officials during Olympics

Pence reportedly did not shake hands with Kim Yong Nam and left the event after only a few minutes. Later, the vice president watched the opening ceremony in the same VIP section as the Kims and remained seated while the unified Korean delegation marched.

Relations between the US and North Korea were marked by months-long tensions in 2017 over Pyongyang's ballistic missile tests, advancements in its nuclear program and heated rhetoric between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.

Read more: Opinion: Kim Jong Un's Olympic Games

Two Koreas, one flag

At a glittering ceremony, the South and North Korean athlete delegations entered the stadium behind the blue-and-white Korean unification flag and brought the crowd to its feet. The Moons, Nam and Kim all stood and shared another handshake as athletes marched in the stadium in Pyongchang.

North Korean delegation members held the unified flag before the opening ceremony

South and North Korea had last marched together at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. They also made the symbolic gesture at the opening of the 2000 and 2004 Olympics in Sydney and Athens.

Pyongyang has sent 22 athletes and hundreds of cheerleaders, performers and taekwondo demonstrators to attend the Pyeongchang Olympics. The Games will conclude on February 25.

Where the Games will be played — Pyeongchang's Olympic venues Snow in Pyeongchang, ice in Gangneung The Games in South Korea will require less travel than at Sochi four years ago. Any competitions on skis, plus the bob and luge, will take place in the Pyeongchang Mountain Cluster. The disciplines on ice be staged around 35 kilometers to the east in Gangneung Coastal Cluster. Pyeongchang is a small city of around 10,000, roughly 180 kilometers east of the capital Seoul.

Where the Games will be played — Pyeongchang's Olympic venues Alpensia sport park Alepnsia is a winter sports resort built especially for the Gangwon province's 2010 bid for the Winter Olympics. It cost in the region of €1 billion ($1.25 billion). Alpensia is host to the sliding events (bobsled, luge and skeleton), biathlon, cross-country skiing and sk jumping centers. The resort was built on what used to arable land, primarily potato fields.

Where the Games will be played — Pyeongchang's Olympic venues Alpensia Ski Jumping Center Might top German ski-jumper Richard Freitag leap to a medal off these ramps? If the spectator stands look a familiar shape to you, there's a reason for the that. The landing zone stands are more typically used for football games involving Gangwon FC. It's one of the signs that the organizers have spared a thought for the sustainability and future of the venues.

Where the Games will be played — Pyeongchang's Olympic venues Alpensia Biathlon Center and Cross Country Skiing Center The courses for cross-country skiers, winter biathletes and Nodic combined competitors snake around the 7,500-seater ski jumping stadium, thorough the forested hills. Although the peaks and troughs are not that steep, the wind could prove a real issue for the athletes, especially when shooting. Close to the coast and 700 meters above sea level, heavy winds often blow in from the Sea of Japan.

Where the Games will be played — Pyeongchang's Olympic venues Olympic Sliding Center The ice track for the bob and skeleton riders can accommodate 7,000 spectators. German luge coach Norbert Loch estimates that peak speeds of around 130 km/h (81 mph) will be possible. Three-time Olympic luge winner Felix Loch describes the course as follows: "An interesting track, which will definitely be good fun. The phase around turns 8 and 9 will be decisive."

Where the Games will be played — Pyeongchang's Olympic venues Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium The Olympic Stadium is also located in the Alpensia resort. It's a temporary stadium designed for the opening and closing ceremonies. It can accommodate 35,000. At a cost of over €100 million, it's a costly temporary fixture. It's slated for deconstruction after the Games, as no subsequent use for it could be found.

Where the Games will be played — Pyeongchang's Olympic venues Jeongseon and Yongpyong Alpine Centers Alpine skiing events will take place at two venues: speed events (downhill and Super-G) at the Jeongseon Alpine Center and technical disciplines (slalom, grand slalom and team events) at the Yongpyong Alpine Center, roughly half an hour's drive away. Snowboarders and freestyle skiers will compete at the Phoenix Snow Park in Yongpyong.

Where the Games will be played — Pyeongchang's Olympic venues Gangneung Ice Arena For the host nation, it's the ice events more than the skiing that offer real medal hopes. South Korea is especially favored to fare well in the figure skating and short track speed skating. Both those events will take place in the all-new Gangneung Ice Arena. It offers space for 12,000 spectators and, according to the organizer, boasts an environmentally-friendly cooling system.

Where the Games will be played — Pyeongchang's Olympic venues Gangneung Oval Expect a strong contingent of fans from the Netherlands, speed skating's dominant power, in the Gangneung Oval seats. The arena has a 400-meter track and space for 8,000 people. It was opened in February 2017 for the World Single Distance Championships. Dutch skaters won all five of the men's titles in that event, and one of the five for women.

Where the Games will be played — Pyeongchang's Olympic venues Gangneung Hockey Center This is the principle of the two ice hockey venues for the 2018 Games. All the men's games and all the medal games will be played here. The women will play their earlier matches at the Kwandong Hockey Center. This four-floor stadium is estimated to have cost around €100 million. Whether it will remain in use afterwards is not clear. While South Koreans do play ice hockey, it's a big house to fill.

Where the Games will be played — Pyeongchang's Olympic venues Gangneung Curling Center The logo, like the name, gives the game away. This is where the curling stones will glide and the brushes will furiously sweep a path for them. But you won't see German athletes in here, unless they've come as spectators. For the first time since its Olympic adoption in 1998, no German curling team has qualified for the Games.

Where the Games will be played — Pyeongchang's Olympic venues Olympic Village A few more high-rises than you'd see in the average village. As with many previous Games, accommodation for the athletes was built from scratch. There's one Olympic Village in Pyeongchang (pictured here) and another in Gangneung. As well as the bedrooms, the athletes and coaches have shared kitchens, canteens, living rooms and conference rooms and more besides.

Where the Games will be played — Pyeongchang's Olympic venues Olympic Village rooms The bedrooms have a bit of a youth hostel feel to them. They're sparsely furnished and at such a size, getting the right roommate (with the right amount of equipment and luggage) could be crucial. Nevertheless, the bedding is obviously supposed to remind the athletes why they've come. Author: Sarah Wiertz



jcg/sms (dpa, AFP, AP)