Olympic Games?

This month, nearly 3,900 of the world’s best athletes are descending on Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the Winter Olympics. They’ll tackle the slopes and hit the ice to compete in 102 different events, including four additions: big-air snowboarding, alpine team skiing, mass start speed skating, and mixed doubles curling.

But sports won’t be the Games’ only focus. While athletes go for the gold in South Korea, much of the world’s attention will be trained on the country’s hostile neighbor, North Korea. The nation’s brutal dictator, Kim Jong Un, has put the world on edge over the past year—testing ballistic missiles and threatening nuclear attacks against the U.S. and its allies in Asia, including South Korea and Japan.

Fears of a nuclear conflict have grown as Kim has repeatedly clashed with President Trump in the press and on social media. Kim has vowed to wipe out the United States. Trump, meanwhile, has threatened to “totally destroy North Korea.”

This month, nearly 3,900 of the world’s best athletes are descending on Pyeongchang, South Korea. They’ll tackle the slopes and hit the ice to compete in 102 different events for the Winter Olympics. That includes four additions: big-air snowboarding, alpine team skiing, mass start speed skating, and mixed doubles curling.

Athletes will go for the gold during the Games. But sports won’t be the only focus in South Korea. Much of the world’s attention will be on the country’s hostile neighbor, North Korea. The nation’s brutal dictator, Kim Jong Un, has put the world on edge over the past year. He’s tested ballistic missiles. He’s also threatened nuclear attacks against the U.S. and its allies in Asia, including South Korea and Japan.

Fears of a nuclear war have grown as Kim has repeatedly clashed with President Trump. Their feud has played out in the press and on social media. Kim has vowed to wipe out the U.S. in a “hail of fire.” Trump, meanwhile, has threatened to “totally destroy North Korea.”

Kim had initially planned to boycott the Games, which run from February 9 to 25. But last month—in a sudden and dramatic shift—North Korea announced that it would participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time in eight years.

In another move, North and South Korea have agreed to field a joint women’s ice hockey team, the first time athletes from the Koreas will play together on an Olympic team. The two countries also decided to march together at the opening ceremony under a unified Korean flag, which hasn’t happened in more than a decade.

The announcements came as officials from both countries met in person for the first time in more than two years.

Some people, including many South Koreans, are cautiously optimistic that North Korea’s participation in the Games could help mend the nations’ broken relationship. South Korea’s newly elected president, Moon Jae-in, has said he wants to negotiate with North Korea, not confront it.

Kim had initially planned to boycott the Games, which run from February 9 to 25. But last month, North Korea announced that it would take part in the Winter Olympics for the first time in eight years. The news marked a sudden and dramatic shift.

In another move, North and South Korea have agreed to have a joint women’s ice hockey team. It’ll be the first time athletes from the Koreas will play together on an Olympic team. The two countries also decided to march together at the opening ceremony. They’ll enter under a unified Korean flag, which hasn’t happened in more than a decade.

The announcements came as officials from both countries met in person for the first time in more than two years.

Some people, including many South Koreans, are cautiously optimistic. They hope that North Korea’s participation in the Games can help fix the nations’ broken relationship. South Korea’s newly elected president, Moon Jae-in, has said he wants to negotiate with North Korea, not confront it. 

But others worry that North Korea is trying to take advantage of South Korea’s goodwill. They say Kim is trying to drive a wedge between the U.S. and South Korea, and to gain relief from economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other nations over its nuclear program.

The White House has been careful not to dismiss the dialogue between the two countries but remains concerned it could derail the U.S. strategy of pressuring Kim to give up his nuclear arsenal. And U.S. officials have downplayed the significance of North and South Koreans competing together.

“Let’s hope that the experience gives North Korean athletes a small taste of freedom and that it rubs off,” says Michael Anton, a spokesman for the National Security Council.  

Still, many people are hopeful that North Korea’s involvement in the Games could be the start of a thaw in the nation’s frosty relationship with South Korea—and the world. Says Olympics historian David Wallechinsky: “The Olympics are an opportunity to make a first step.”

But others worry that North Korea is trying to take advantage of South Korea’s goodwill. They say Kim is trying to drive a wedge between the U.S. and South Korea. They also say that he’s looking to gain relief from economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other nations over North Korea’s nuclear program.

The White House has been careful not to dismiss the dialogue between the two countries. But concerns remain that it could derail the U.S. strategy of pressuring Kim to give up his nuclear arsenal. And U.S. officials have downplayed the significance of North and South Koreans competing together.

“Let’s hope that the experience gives North Korean athletes a small taste of freedom and that it rubs off,” says Michael Anton, a spokesman for the National Security Council. 

Still, many people are hopeful. They believe North Korea’s involvement in the Games could be the start of a thaw in the nation’s frosty relationship with South Korea and the world. Says Olympics historian David Wallechinsky: “The Olympics are an opportunity to make a first step.”

The Pyeongchang Games aren’t the first time politics have claimed the Olympics’ spotlight. Athletes have long used the competition to speak out against human rights abuses and other injustices (see “Politics & the Olympics”). Entire countries have even boycotted the Games for political reasons. More than 60 countries, including the U.S., skipped the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, for example.

But this time, the controversy hits especially close to home. The Games are just 60 miles from the demilitarized zone (DMZ), the heavily guarded boundary that has divided the two Koreas since the end of the Korean War (1950-53). That conflict, in which 34,000 Americans died, ended in a stalemate, with both sides agreeing to a ceasefire. But no peace treaty was signed, and the two countries—along with the U.S.—continue to keep troops stationed along the DMZ, in case the conflict resumes.

Today, South Korea is a thriving democracy with the 13th largest economy in the world. Communist North Korea, meanwhile, is one of the poorest countries on Earth, often facing shortages of food, water, and electricity. Kim pours much of his nation’s meager resources into his military.

The Koreas’ Olympic history has been rocky. When South Korea was selected to host the 1988 Summer Games, North Korea pushed to co-host. It was rejected—and retaliated by blowing up a Korean Air flight before the Games, killing 115 people.

But the countries have also presented a united front at the Olympics. The two nations marched together under a unified Korean flag at three opening ceremonies: in 2000, 2004, and 2006. And in 2016, two gymnasts, one from North Korea and the other from South Korea, snapped a selfie together, showcasing the potential power of the Games to promote peace. Though the public gushed over the photo, the Koreas’ tense relationship didn’t change.

This isn’t the first time politics have claimed the Olympics’ spotlight. Athletes have long used the competition to speak out against human rights abuses and other injustices (see “Politics & the Olympics”). Entire countries have even boycotted the Games for political reasons. More than 60 countries skipped the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, for example. The nations, including the U.S., did so in protest of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.

But this time, the controversy hits especially close to home. The Games are just 60 miles from the demilitarized zone (DMZ). This heavily guarded boundary has divided the two Koreas since the end of the Korean War (1950-53). That conflict, in which 34,000 Americans died, ended with both sides agreeing to a ceasefire. But no peace treaty was signed. The two countries, along with the U.S., continue to keep troops stationed along the DMZ. They’re prepared in case the conflict resumes. 

Today, South Korea is a thriving democracy with the 13th largest economy in the world. Communist North Korea, meanwhile, is one of the poorest countries on Earth. It often faces shortages of food, water, and electricity. Kim pours much of his nation’s meager resources into his military.

The Koreas’ Olympic history has been rocky. South Korea was selected to host the 1988 Summer Games. North Korea then pushed to co-host, but was rejected. The nation retaliated by blowing up a Korean Air flight before the Games. The bombing killed 115 people. 

But the countries have also presented a united front at the Olympics. The two nations marched together under a unified Korean flag at three opening ceremonies. They did so in 2000, 2004, and 2006. And in 2016, two gymnasts, one from North Korea and the other from South Korea, snapped a selfie together. This display showcased the potential power of the Games to promote peace. Though the public gushed over the photo, the Koreas’ tense relationship didn’t change.

The North Korean situation isn’t Pyeongchang’s only challenge. The IOC banned Russia from competing this year as punishment for a government cover-up of athletes’ use of performance-enhancing drugs, known as doping. 

Another issue: fewer than three-quarters of the available tickets to the Games had been sold as of mid-January, according to the organizing committee. 

Experts say fears of an attack by North Korea may have been keeping spectators away. But the country’s involvement in the Games should fix that, says Jenny Town, the assistant director of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. “It’s highly unlikely that North Korea is going to do something if they’re participating,” Town says.

The North Korean situation isn’t Pyeongchang’s only challenge. The IOC banned Russia from competing this year. The ban was punishment for a government cover-up of athletes’ use of performance-enhancing drugs, known as doping. 

There’s another issue. Fewer than three-quarters of the available tickets to the Games had been sold as of mid-January, according to the organizing committee. 

Experts say fears of an attack by North Korea may have been keeping spectators away. But the country’s involvement in the Games should fix that, says Jenny Town, the assistant director of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. “It’s highly unlikely that North Korea is going to do something if they’re participating,” Town says.

South Korea has also convinced U.S. officials to postpone military exercises on the Korean Peninsula until after the Games. The annual drills—in which U.S. and South Korean troops practice defenses against a North Korean invasion—have increased tensions in the past.

South Korean authorities hope the postponement—along with recent talks with North Korea—will lead to improved ties and more dialogue, including restarting negotiations to end Kim’s nuclear program. In a promising sign, the direct phone line between the two countries was recently reopened after two years. Without it, South Korean officials had resorted to using a megaphone to yell important messages to North Korea across the DMZ.

Still, experts caution that many of the issues that divide North and South Korea remain unresolved. “There’s always hope, but it’s not an easy road ahead,” Town says. 

South Korea has also convinced U.S. officials to postpone military exercises on the Korean Peninsula until after the Games. U.S. and South Korean troops practice defenses against a North Korean invasion during these annual drills. These exercises have increased tensions in the past.

South Korean authorities hope the postponement and their recent talks with North Korea will lead to improved ties and more dialogue. They hope that will include restarting negotiations to end Kim’s nuclear program. In a promising sign, the direct phone line between the two countries was recently reopened after two years. Without it, South Korean officials had resorted to using a megaphone to yell important messages to North Korea across the DMZ.

Still, experts caution that many of the issues that divide North and South Korea remain unresolved. “There’s always hope, but it’s not an easy road ahead,” Town says. 

Despite the political drama, South Korean officials say they’re prepared for the Games. All 12 Olympic venues—including six brand-new ones—were ready to go a month before the opening ceremony.

South Korea has also stepped up security, running counter-terrorist drills and deploying about 5,000 troops to the Games. 

The intense preparations are putting Olympic athletes at ease. U.S. freestyle skier Jaelin Kauf has been training her entire life for the Games. The 21-year-old from Alta, Wyoming, says she’s too busy trying to win gold to worry about North Korea. “There are people watching out for us,” she says. “My focus is perfecting my runs.”

Despite the political drama, South Korean officials say they’re prepared for the Games. All 12 Olympic venues were ready to go a month before the opening ceremony. That included six brand-new ones.

South Korea has also stepped up security. They’re running counter-terrorist drills and deploying about 5,000 troops to the Games.

The intense preparations are putting Olympic athletes at ease. U.S. freestyle skier Jaelin Kauf has been training her entire life for the Games. The 21-year-old from Alta, Wyoming, says she’s too busy trying to win gold to worry about North Korea. “There are people watching out for us,” she says. “My focus is perfecting my runs.”