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North and South Korea unite for unified 2018 Winter Olympics

Posted on: February 8, 2018

by Makayla Head 

     North and South Korea have come to an agreement this year for the Winter Olympics even through all the controversy they have had for over a decade. They have decided to walk under the same flag at the Winter Olympics as well as fielding a joint women’s ice hockey team.  The background of what’s been going on between the two you wouldn’t find this a significant as others do. Basically, North and South Korea have had high tensions due to North’s nuclear missiles test and other conflicting subjects.

   The Winter Olympic games will begin on February 9 in Pyeongchang. South Korea and the women’s ice hockey team will be the first combined Korean team for the Olympics. They will also be the first unified team since their athletes played together in 1991. The country's delegations will march in the opening ceremony Behind a “unified Korea” flag that shows no individualism between the two nations. The North will send 230 supporters to the games and negotiators agreed that supporters of both sides would root together for athletes from both countries.The two countries also agreed on Wednesday that their skiing teams would train together in the Masikryong ski resort in North Korea. The North’s delegation would include at least 550 people. The plan is for the north's athletes to enter south over a land border on the first of February to discuss and finalize all the information.

   Both sides came together this year for the Winter Olympics because they are wanting to promote peace, dialogue and cooperation. Even though the three year conflict in the early 1950s that they were going through ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. They were against each other for years up until now because the leaders of each side decided to come to an appeasement this year.

 

winter olympics symbol