Over in the South, the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic torch relay welcomed in the New Year as it reached Pohang. The city, which is on the sea front in the country, is popular amongst tourists and a spot where the first sunlight of 2018 was seen.

The event marked by a special ceremony January first with the unveiling of a new statue shaped like a pair of hands. The sculpture is named "Sangsaeng" which translates to "win-win" in English. After starting its journey in November, the torch will have travelled exactly 2,018 kilometers and been carried by 7,500 bearers en route to the opening ceremony on February ninth. Three of those have been Chinese citizens who go by the names of Yang Shilin, Chen Zhihua and this young man, Yan Yuhong , a disabled student living in South Korea. The next stop for the relay is Gyeongju on the coast in the south-east, the final stop before the start of the games next month.