Pyongyang didn't accept Unified Flag of the Winter Olympic Games, North Korean today marched under its flag at Paralympic 2018 opening ceremony in South Korea
March 09, 2018
VietPress USA(Mar. 9, 2018): The unification of North and South Korea seems that it's hard to be realized and this dream just flew away with the end of the Winter Olympic PeyongChang 2018
During the Winter Olympic Games 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea; both North and South Korea marched as one Team under the Korean Unified Flag for opening and closing ceremonies.
Kim Yo-jong, younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, lead a strong delegation of North Korea to join the opening ceremolny of the Winter Olympic 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea. South Korea's President Moon Jae-in welcome her at the President Blue House in Seoul and she handed over an Invitation Letter from Lader Kim Jong-un to invite President Moon Jae-in to visit North Korea.
For closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games 2018, North Korea sent a top level delegation led by General Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Party Central Committee to South Korea and met with President Moon Jae-in and goverment of South Korea.
After this, Leader Kim Jong-un invited a delegation of South Korean envoys visited North Korea for discussing bilateral relations between the two rival neighbours and potential dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang administrations. South Korean delegation including 10 members, led by National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Suh Hoon and National Security Office (NSO) head Chung Eui-yong.
Yesterday Mr. Chung Eui-yong visited the White House and met with President Trump to relay the letter from North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un sent to President Trump.
At a press conference at an alley of the White House, South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong told reporters after meeting with President Trump that: "I told President Trump that in our meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he's committed to denuclearization. He pledged that North Korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests."
President Trump is pleased to welcome North Korean Leader and announced to meet Kim Jong-un in May 2018. But at the same time, North Korea has turned back their policy not to be unified with South Korea. Today at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Paralympic 2018 in South Korea, the North Korean announced that North and South Korea will march separately.
The 24-strong North Korean delegation arrived in South Korea yesterday through a land border north of the South Korean capital Seoul. Although there are six athletes in the delegation, only Kim and fellow Nordic skier Ma Yu-chol will be competing at the country's first-ever Winter Paralympics.
A record 567 athletes from 48 countries, plus the Neutral Paralympic Athlete delegation, will compete at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Paralympics, which are due to run until March 18.
North and South Korea marched together at the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, but a dispute over the unified flag drove them apart at the opening ceremony for the Paralympics on Friday.
The two nations decided to forgo the symbol of unity because of a tiny island chain that would have amounted to little more than a dot on the flag.
The unified flag, which was seen at the Winter Olympics, showed the Korean peninsula in blue against a white background. North Korea asked that the Dokdo Islands, which Japan now claims and calls Takeshima, be included on the flag as a small dot. South Korea said putting the islands on the flag would violate the International Paralympics Committee’s recommendation not to politicize sports events.
North and South Korea marched together at the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, but a dispute over the unified flag drove them apart at the opening ceremony for the Paralympics on Friday.
The two nations decided to forgo the symbol of unity because of a tiny island chain that would have amounted to little more than a dot on the flag.
Members of the North Korean national team during the parade of athletes at the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games at PyeongChang Olympic Stadium
North Korea asked that the Dokdo Islands, which Japan now claims and calls Takeshima, be included on the flag, according to BBC. The unified flag, which was seen at the Winter Olympics, showed the Korean peninsula in blue against a white background. South Korea said putting the islands on the flag would violate the International Paralympics Committee’s recommendation not to politicize sports events.
North Korean officials said they do “not accept the fact that Dokdo cannot be marked due to political issues held in Korea,” Reuters reported.
The two Korean nations agreed to “respect each other’s stance and march separately” following the flag disagreement, BBC reported.
Despite the rift, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that the North Koreans were cheered when they entered the arena at the Paralympics opening ceremony on Friday.