2018 Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics: ROK & DPRK To march separately at opening ceremony
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We begin with news regarding the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics. At last month's Winter Games, one of the big stories was the DPRK and South Korea entering the stadium for the opening ceremony together under a Korean Unification Flag. Many were wondering if that would also occur at the Paralympics.
After some deliberations, it has been decided that the two will enter separately. Host South Korea will be the last to enter the stadium, while the DPRK will follow the Japanese delegation.For the Paralympics, DPRK is sending two cross-country skiers -- Kim Jong Hyon and Ma Yu Chol, the first time it has ever sent athletes to the event.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency says the countries initially agreed to march together at the opening. But after lengthy negotiations, the Korea Paralympic Committee said there would be no joint march as DPRK "cannot accept the fact that it is not allowed to display Dokdo -- a set of disputed islands in the unification flag during the Games.
But reports claim, the DPRK and South Korea will be torchbearers together to take the stage of the opening ceremony. The athletes from the two countries walked together at the opening of last month's Winter Olympics under a neutral "unification flag", part of an intense rapprochement that also saw Pyongyang send hundreds of cheerleaders and leader Kim Jong Un's sister to the ceremony.