Feb 9, 2018; Pyeongchang, South Korea; A performer as Ngozi Onwumere of Nigeria carries the national flag during the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony at Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea, February 9 (Reuters) - The Winter Olympics sparked to life in a vivid, colourful ceremony of fire and ice in South Korea on Friday, and the diplomacy was just as choreographed in the stadium where leaders from nations that are sworn enemies sat close together.
South Korea, which is using the Pyeongchang Games to break the ice with North Korea, seated its president alongside U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, with two of the North's most senior officials sitting in the row behind.
President Moon Jae-in, who wants to harness the Olympic spirit to pave the way for talks over the North's nuclear and missile programme, shook hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister as well as the North's nominal head of state.
The South is still technically at war with the North after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, and the United States and the North have recently swapped nuclear threats.
Underlining Moon's efforts to re-engage with the North, the opening ceremony followed the story line of children wandering through a mythical, snowy landscape and discovering a world where people live in peace and harmony.
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Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Opening ceremony – Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium - Pyeongchang, South Korea – February 9, 2018 - Performers carry the South Korean flag during the opening ceremony. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon[/caption]
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Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Opening Ceremony – Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium- Pyeongchang, South Korea – February 9, 2018 - Erin Hamlin of U.S. carries the national flag during the opening ceremony. REUTERS/Phil Noble[/caption]
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Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Opening ceremony – Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium - Pyeongchang, South Korea – February 9, 2018 - Eric Frenzel of Germany carries the national flag. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard[/caption]
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Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Opening ceremony – Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium - Pyeongchang, South Korea – February 9, 2018 - Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway carries the national flag. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard[/caption]
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Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Opening ceremony – Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium - Pyeongchang, South Korea – February 9, 2018 - German Madrazo of Mexico carries the national flag. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach[/caption]
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Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Opening ceremony – Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium - Pyeongchang, South Korea – February 9, 2018 - A general view shows the opening ceremony. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski[/caption]
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Feb 9, 2018; Pyeongchang, South Korea; Beau-James Wells of New Zealand carries the national flag with delegates during the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony at Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]
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Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Opening ceremony – Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium - Pyeongchang, South Korea – February 9, 2018 - Ngozi Onwumere of Nigeria carries their flag in the opening ceremony. REUTERS/Sean M. Haffey[/caption]
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Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Opening Ceremony – Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium- Pyeongchang, South Korea – February 9, 2018 - General view as Switzerland parade during the opening ceremony. REUTERS/Phil Noble[/caption]
The Olympics have provided some respite from years of tense relations between Seoul and Pyongyang, though just hours before the ceremony hundreds of anti-North Korean protesters scuffled with riot police outside the stadium, burning North Korean flags and pictures of its leader, Kim Jong Un.
South Korea's frigid February, where temperatures have plummeted to minus 20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) at night, has come as a shock to the system for athletes and visitors alike in the leadup to these Games, prompting concerns about hypothermia at the opening ceremony.
The weather was a little milder than forecast on Friday, but spectators still huddled near heaters, holding hot packs and slurping down steaming fishcake soup to ward off the chills.
Bundled up in a scarf, mask and knitted hat, with hot packs tucked into her knee blanket, office worker Shin Hye-sook said she and her three colleagues were coping with the cold.
"It’s okay unless the wind blows," said the 60-year-old. "We’re sitting as close as we can and trying not to move a lot to save our energy."
