We start in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where the 2018 Winter Olympics have officially kicked off. Friday's opening ceremony was watched by millions of people around the world, but many are also keeping an eye on the games' political undertones. CGTN's Roee Ruttenberg explains.

The Olympic Games are all about coming together. And indeed, on Friday a moment of historic unity was on display for the world to see. This, as athletes from the two Koreas marched together in the opening ceremony, under one flag. In the stands, world leaders watched on South Korea's Moon Jae-in, seated with his wife. And behind them, Kim Yo Jong. She's the sister of Kim Jong Un, the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea who has threatened to strike the United States with nuclear weapons. President Moon and Ms. Kim did shake hands in the stands. Just a few seats away, American Vice President Mike Pence took no notice. His boss, U.S. President Donald Trump, has warned the DPRK that he may strike first. Amid the freezing cold, there was no sign of those relations warming up with Washington and Pyongyang ruling out direct talks on the sidelines. Though these impersonators did give people some hope.

CHO KUN-YOUNG SOUTH KOREAN RESIDENT "I think Kim Yo Jong's visit to the South is a good thing. I believe that it'll be a big step towards the improvement of relations between the two Koreas and international peace."

South Korean officials have confirmed that Moon and Kim will have lunch together on Saturday, in what will mark the highest-level contact between the two sides in years. Before the ceremony Moon also met with Pence, and, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The U.S. has called it an iron-clad alliance. But Tokyo has warned Seoul against falling for what it has called Pyongyang's 'charm offensive.' Abe and Moon also met separately and discussed another hot button issue in their bilateral relations: the so-called comfort women. An agreement reached between Abe and Moon's predecessor Park Geun-hye over compensation for World War II-era sex slaves is now being challenged by the new government in Seoul. Moon's administration says the deal failed to properly address the concerns of the victims and survivors. At their meeting on Friday, Abe reiterated his position that a deal is a deal.

ROEE RUTTENBERG WASHINGTON Politics is always a part of the games. And this year has proved no different. For his part, Mike Pence chose to meet with DPRK defectors. He was accompanied by the father of Otto Warmbier, the American who returned to the U.S. in a coma - and then died - shortly after being released from DPRK custody. Suggesting his own version of unity Pence told the defectors: the American people stand with you. Roee Ruttenberg, CGTN, in Washington.