GANGNEUNG, Korea, Republic Of — In a rare sight, North Korean flags flew in South Korea on Thursday as the South prepared for the Winter Olympics that has brought a temporary lull to tensions surrounding the North’s nuclear program.
The Olympic village in Gangneung turned into a selfie site as volunteer workers posed under a North Korean flag that has been raised in the country for the first time since a hockey tournament in April last year. North Korean flags were also raised at the other athletes’ village in Pyeongchang and stadiums in both Pyeongchang and Gangneng where North Korean athletes are expected to compete during the games, according to Pyeongchang’s Olympic organizing committee.
North Korea is sending 22 athletes to the Pyeongchang Games that start on Feb. 9, including 10 North Korean skiers and skaters who are expected to arrive in the South later on Thursday via a rare flight between the war-separated rivals. Twelve North Korean female ice hockey players are already in the South practicing with their South Korean teammates for a unified team that will compete during the Olympics.
"If feels amazing (that they are coming)," said Choi So Eun, a 21-year-old college student who volunteered for translation and other work during the Olympics, during an interview at the Gangneung athletes’ village. Choi Sangyoung, another volunteer worker, said he hopes that the Olympics would help ease tensions between rivals and lead them toward a "peaceful and good" direction.
The Koreas have been planning several conciliatory gestures during the games Seoul sees as an opportunity to revive meaningful communication with the North after an extended period of animosity and diplomatic stalemate over its nuclear weapons and missiles program. The Koreas have also agreed to jointly march under a "unification" flag during the Feb. 9 opening ceremony and for a North Korean art troupe to perform in Gangneung and Seoul on Feb. 8 and Feb. 11, respectively.
Pyeongchang, a relatively small ski resort town, will host the ski, snowboard and sliding events during the Olympics. Gangneung, a larger coastal city about an hour’s drive away, will host the skating, hockey and curling events.
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