Our View: The Peace Olympics: Games have shot at thawing frozen Korean relations

The sole purpose of the Olympic games is to unite countries through sport, each one cheering for the gold.

This year, it has seemed as though unity is more relevant than ever.

With tensions over the past few years with North Korea, the spectator of war hangs over these games, causing a thin line of tension between countries.

There have been many efforts to how the signs of unity between North and South Korea, such as the unity flag, combined Korean teams, and with the meeting of south Korean President Moon Jae with Kim Kim Jong Un’s sister, the countries have made a great effort to prove this as the “peace Olympics.”

With the great deal of effort from North Koreans, they hope for the winter Olympic games to become a venue that leads to dialogue for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Vice President Pence has led the U.S. delegation to the Olympics and made many stops to deliver messages meant to counter what he called North Korea’s “charm offensive.”

However, as the games began, tensions seemed to rise as North Korea held a military parade Thursday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean army, an annual holiday that this year was moved up to the day before the Olympics.

This was to make a point that they will not give up their weapons, increasing some of the tensions during the Olympic games.

Overall, there are many small signs of unity, and each one is a step in the right direction, though the United States has pledged to resume its military exercises after the Paralympics in March, and North Korea is expected to resume its weapons tests in kind.

After the games there is only hope that we can be taking a step in the right direction, and that the Olympic games are the push-start that we need toward peace.

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