“To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war” –  a quote once attributed to Winston Churchill that could be used in the context of the recently concluded Games as "game-game is always better than jaw-jaw."

The PyeongChang Winter Olympic flame was just extinguished, but ignited a flame for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games witnessed the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) marching together in the opening ceremonies and the two countries competed as one team in the women's ice hockey event. 

The DPRK side sent high-level delegations to attend both the opening and closing ceremonies. It has been nearly 12 years since the DPRK and ROK marched together at the Olympics (the last one being on February 10, 2006). This is the first time the DPRK participated in any Olympic Games held in the ROK.

The DPRK boycotted the Seoul Summer Olympics in 1988. However, athletes from the ROK marched alongside their DPRK counterparts at several Olympics after: in 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics in Sydney and Athens, respectively, as well as the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. But because of the DPRK's missile and nuclear tests in recent years, tension arose in the Peninsula. The warming up in the relationship between the two Koreas during the Games was unprecedented.

From PyeongChang, all eyes are still on East Asia as the Olympic torch is now handed over to Beijing. In 2022, Beijing will become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

Even as it celebrates the achievements of the past three weeks, the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games began with a segment called "Countdown: Dream for Tomorrow." It looks ahead to Japan – Tokyo is slated to host the Summer Olympics in 2020 – and to China. 

Just before the closing of PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, the United States announced the harshest sanctions to the DPRK and the joint military drill with the ROK will be resumed. The real dangerous game comes back. It indicates again who loves peace and who is in favor of absolute security.

However, Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee has ever argued, "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." The Olympic East Asia time will contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind by igniting hopes and dreams with the Olympic spirit.

 (Wang Yiwei is a Jean Monnet Chair Professor at Renmin University of China. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the view of CGTN.)