Koreas Share Handshake at Olympic Games Opening

 

A sister of North Korea’s leader shook hands with the South Korean president as representatives of the two countries sat together at the opening of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

Sitting nearby was Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the head of the United States delegation¹, Vice² President Mike Pence.

On Thursday, the two men met at the prime minister’s home in Japan. They spoke³ of strengthening the military alliance⁴ between their countries to answer threats by North Korea.

As is Olympic tradition, Greece, which held the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, led the parade of athletes into the sports stadium in Pyeongchang. Other countries followed in alphabetical⁵ order, based the Korean alphabet.

Athletes from the two Koreas marched in together under a white flag, which has a blue image in the shape of the Korean peninsula. The ceremonies took place as the world looks for clues about the peninsula’s future while North Korea continues its nuclear and missile activities.

Before the ceremony, South Korean officials released a statement from President Moon Jae-in. He said, “Athletes from the two Koreas will work together for victory, and that will resonate with and be remembered in the hearts of people around the world as a sign of peace.”

The North has sent nearly 500 people to the PyeongChang Games. Its delegation includes government officials, athletes, artists and cheerleaders. More than 2,900 athletes from 92 countries will compete in the games, making it the biggest Winter Olympics to date.

Kim’s sister to meet with Moon

One member of the North Korean delegation is Kim Yo Jong. She is the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and believed to be his closest confidant. She is also the first member of North Korea’s ruling family to visit the South since the Korean War.

Kim Jong Un himself has not left North Korea or met any head of state since 2011 - the year he became the country’s leader after the death of his father.

Officially, Kim Yo Jong, at the age of 30, is just a member of a delegation led by 90-year-old Kim Yong Nam. She and the rest of the North's delegation are to join Moon for a meal on Saturday.

The United States has repeatedly warned its ally⁶ South Korea to continue pressure on the North Korean government. But Vice President Pence has not ruled out a meeting with North Korean officials during his visit to South Korea.

The vice president was asked about the possibility of U.S.-North Korea talks before leaving Monday on his six-day Asia trip.

“Let me say President Trump⁷ has said he always believes in talking, but I haven’t requested any meeting,” Pence told reporters. He added, “But we’ll see what happens.”

I'm Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

athlete - n. a person who is trained or good at sports

stadium - n. a large building with many rows of seats for sporting events

alphabetical - adj. arranged in the order of the letters of the alphabet

resonate - v. to have a particular meaning or importance

confidant - n. a trusted person

1 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 alliance   

n.同盟，同盟国，结盟，联姻

参考例句：

• China will not enter into alliance with any big power.中国不同任何大国结盟。
• The new alliance was very much in evidence.新的联盟上星期很引人注目。

5 alphabetical   

adj.字母（表）的，依字母顺序的

参考例句：

• Please arrange these books in alphabetical order.请把这些书按字母顺序整理一下。
• There is no need to maintain a strict alphabetical sequence.不必保持严格的字顺。

6 ally   

n.同盟者，同盟国；vt.使结盟，与...有关联

参考例句：

• In that war England was not an ally,she was neutral.在那场战争中，英国不同任何一国结盟，保持中立。
• She felt she needed an ally so badly.她感到她极需一个支持者。

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。