North Korea's athletes took centre stage as the biggest Winter Paralympics in history opened in South Korea on Friday with a glittering ceremony after a rapid round of diplomacy hit dizzying heights.

After spectacular light shows and fireworks, cross-country skiers Kim Jong Hyon and Ma Yu Chol entered as North Korea's first Winter Paralympians. The ceremony took place as the world digests the news US President Donald Trump has agreed to meet Kim Jong Un.

The wheelchair-bound skiers appeared at the same temporary stadium in Pyeongchang, about 30 miles (50 kilometres) from the heavily fortified inter-Korean border, where Kim Jong Un's sister attended the opening of last month's Winter Olympics.

It proved to be the trigger for a series of conciliatory steps between the two Koreas, who remain technically at war, culminating in Thursday's announcement at the White House.

North Korea's first Winter Paralympians did not appear alongside South Korea's team, as happened at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, after a row over the blue-and-white Korean unification flag.

North Korea pulled out of the joint march after South Korea decided to remove islands claimed by Japan from the flag, which depicts the Korean peninsula.

The teams from the North and South entered separately under their own flags during the athlete's parade in the opening ceremony Friday, which saw competitors from 49 countries march into the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium.

But the disagreement is considered a minor sticking point after what has been a swift thaw between the neighbours, starting with North Korea's decision in January to participate in the Olympics.

It is quite a turnaround from last year, when Pyongyang tested missiles that could reach the US mainland and detonated what it said was an H-bomb, sparking fury from Trump who threatened to "completely destroy" the North.

At Friday's ceremony, South Korean President Moon Jae-in officially declared the Paralympics open in sub-zero temperatures before fireworks lit up the night sky.

There were also light shows, as well as traditional South Korean performances and modern dance.

Several of those performing had disabilities -- a drummer with a prosthetic arm and legs beat a giant traditional drum, and a choir of wheelchair-bound performers sang the South Korean anthem.

In an opening address, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons urged the Paralympians to "keep fighting, play fair, have fun and keep pushing your limits.

"Your extraordinary stories are what dreams are made of and will be told for years to come."

The ceremony culminated in the Paralympic flame being brought into the stadium, and a "moon-shaped", white cauldron being lit.

There are 567 athletes at the Games competing in 80 medal events across six sports: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice hockey, snowboard and wheelchair curling.

Some of the adapted sports have become hits with spectators, such as fast and furious para ice hockey where competitors slide around on double-bladed sledges.

Among the athletes are 30 neutral competitors from Russia, which remains suspended by the IPC over a mass doping scandal.

As well as North Korea, Georgia and Tajikistan are taking part for the first time in the nine-day Games.

Paralympians are an eclectic bunch, ranging from a 61-year-old Japanese ice hockey goaltender to a Mexican who found unlikely success as a mono-skier.

American snowboarder Brenna Huckaby, who lost her right leg below the knee, made headlines when she featured in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue.

The first events will take place Saturday, with athletes competing in downhill skiing and biathlon. The Games run until March 18.</s>Tensions between North and South Korea spiked today as the two nations' athletes marched separately into the Olympic Stadium in PyeongChang for the Paralympic Games opening ceremony.

The two Koreas marched united at the opening ceremony of last month's Winter Olympic.

But today they arrived apart after failing to agree on which version of the unified flag to use.

North Korea had wanted to use a version of the Korean peninsula flag that includes islands disputed with Japan - a demand which angered the Japanese delegation.

Japan had complained to South Korea after North Korean fans were seen waving the flag at a women's ice hockey game last month between the combined North and South Korean team and Sweden.

'We understand the difficulties for the International Paralympic Committee,' International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesman Mark Adams said.

'This is not an easy process as we know from our own experience.

'We were still negotiating right up until the very last moment. Four hours before we still did not have agreement for a joint march.'

The flag depicts a map of the undivided Korean peninsula, including the disputed islands - known as Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese - in the Sea of Japan, known to Koreans as the East Sea.

North Korea's delegation to the Paralympics said on Thursday it 'does not accept the fact that Dokdo cannot be marked due to political issues held in Korea', according to the statement from the Korea Paralympic Committee.

In response to the North's claim, the International Paralympics Committee said the two Koreas will march individually as the flag cannot be changed.

After spectacular light shows and fireworks, cross-country skiers Kim Jong Hyon and Ma Yu Chol entered as North Korea's first Winter Paralympians.

The wheelchair-bound skiers appeared at the same temporary stadium in Pyeongchang, about 30 miles (50 kilometres) from the heavily fortified inter-Korean border, where Kim Jong Un's sister attended the opening of last month's Winter Olympics.

Several of those performing had disabilities - a drummer with a prosthetic arm and legs beat a giant traditional drum, and a choir of wheelchair-bound performers sang the South Korean anthem.

In an opening address Andrew Parsons urged the Paralympians to 'keep fighting, play fair, have fun and keep pushing your limits.

'Your extraordinary stories are what dreams are made of and will be told for years to come.'

The ceremony culminated in the Paralympic flame being brought into the stadium, and a 'moon-shaped', white cauldron being lit.

There are 567 athletes at the Games competing in 80 medal events across six sports: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice hockey, snowboard and wheelchair curling.

Some of the adapted sports have become hits with spectators, such as fast and furious para ice hockey where competitors slide around on double-bladed sledges.

Among the athletes are 30 neutral competitors from Russia, which remains suspended by the IPC over a mass doping scandal.

As well as North Korea, Georgia and Tajikistan are taking part for the first time in the nine-day Games.

Paralympians are an eclectic bunch, ranging from a 61-year-old Japanese ice hockey goaltender to a Mexican who found unlikely success as a mono-skier.

South Korea was eager to use the Winter Olympics to help ease tensions spurred by the North's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The opening ceremony on February 9 was attended by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's younger sister Kim Yo Jong, as well as Kim Yong Nam, the North's nominal head of state.

US Vice President Mike Pence and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were also present.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump said he was prepared to meet North Korea's leader in what would be the first face-to-face encounter between the two countries' leaders and potentially mark a major breakthrough in nuclear tensions with Pyongyang.

North and South Korea will also hold their first summit in more than a decade in late April.

Adams told Reuters that the Winter Olympics, which South Korea had dubbed the 'Peace Games', had helped facilitate progress in calming tensions.

'The joint march and the joint hockey team, and also the opportunity for direct informal discussions that took place during the Games, have paved the way for progress in talks,' he said.

'This door remains open ... and this 'open door' is clear from the summit that has been agreed between the two Korean leaders scheduled for April, as well as the opening up of a direct hotline between them for the first time for many years.

'For our part, the IOC will continue the process discussing with our partners in the National Olympic Committee of DPRK (North Korea) how we can continue to work on participation of the country's athletes.'

The IOC along with international sports federations supported North Korean athletes financially and in kind to help them participate at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Reclusive North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.</s>Great Britain has 17 athletes competing at the 2018 Winter Paralympics

Winter Paralympics on the BBC Venue: Pyeongchang, South Korea Dates: 9-18 March Time in Pyeongchang: GMT +9 Coverage: Follow on Radio 5 live and via the BBC Sport website. Television coverage on Channel 4.

The largest ever Winter Paralympics were officially opened in freezing conditions at the Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Forty-eight different nations, plus a neutral Paralympic athletes team consisting of Russian competitors, entered the stadium in -5C temperatures.

A record 567 athletes will take part across nine days of competition.

Snowboarder Owen Pick led the British team into the arena as flagbearer.

ParalympicsGB has sent a 17-strong team of athletes, though only snowboarders Pick, Ben Moore and James Barnes-Miller, and 2014 gold-medal-winning visually impaired skier Kelly Gallagher and her guide Gary Smith attended the ceremony. The remaining athletes compete on Saturday.

The $106m 35,000-seater stadium, which will be pulled down after the closing ceremony, appeared to be about two thirds full, and the crowd watched a ceremony consisting of traditional Korean dance, combined with modern music and blended with light shows.

Media playback is not supported on this device Eight years ago I was fighting for this flag - Pick

Large North Korean party enters

Unlike at last month's Olympics, where North and South Korean athletes walked under one united flag, the two countries could not strike a similar arrangement for the Paralympics opening ceremony.

Instead, a North Korean party of 18 representatives walked with their own flag to mark their first appearance at a Winter Paralympics, although there are only two athletes competing - both in cross-country skiing - with the rest of the group made up of officials.

There was no notable reaction for the North Korean entrance from the crowd, who were polite but subdued for most of the evening. The loudest moment came when the South Korean athletes entered the arena to complete the athlete parade.

There was also a positive reaction when one athlete from North Korea and one from South Korea held the Paralympic flame aloft together before handing it over to start a relay which culminated with a South Korean single-leg amputee abseiling up a ski slope before the cauldron was lit.

North Korea and South Korea appeared under their own countries' flags at the parade. North Korea's flag bearer is ice hockey player Hwang Chung-gum

There was barely a reaction when the Russian athletes entered the arena under a neutral flag and the team name neutral Paralympic athletes, after the nation was banned following a report which found evidence of state-sponsored doping.

The USA has the largest contingent of athletes the Games, with 68, and were also greeted with a loud cheer.

The British team were depleted by the number of athletes involved in competition on Saturday, but World Championship silver medallist Pick, a former soldier who had his leg amputated after being injured in Afghanistan, led from the front.

He was ably supported by the energetic dancing and bouncing of Gallagher, who in Sochi four years ago became the first Briton to win a gold medal on snow at either a Paralympics or Olympics.

Host nation South Korea have 36 athletes competing

K-pop and skateboards

The ceremony itself, after the athlete parade, was sprayed with flashes of colour and featured a young girl directing illuminated fish as they swam in the arena floor, joyful children on sledges and boats, giant snowmen and a skateboarding mascot.

One of the most memorable moments featured a DJ on a large wooden wheel lifted into the air to the sound of K-pop, the modern genre of pop music famous in Korea.

International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons impressed the crowd by greeting them in Korean at the start of his speech, adding "Paralympic sport not only changes lives but changes the world".

Competition at the 2018 Winter Paralympics will start on Saturday

He was followed by South Korea president Moon Jae-in, who officially opened the Games to a backdrop of fireworks and introduced the raising of the Paralympic flag.

After the flame was lit, there was a further rendition of K-pop songs that got the crowd dancing and singing to end the ceremony.

The Paralympic cauldron was lit by Seo Soonseok of South Korea's men's wheelchair curling team, who had been handed the flame by silver medal-winning women's curling team member Kim EunJung.

What is happening on Saturday?

The sport will begin on Saturday with downhill skiing, biathlon, wheelchair curling and Para-ice hockey, with 36 medals on offer.

GB's visually impaired duo of Mille Knight and Menna Fitzpatrick, along with their guides Brett Wild and Jen Kehoe, will hope to be among the downhill medals, while Chris Lloyd and James Whitley will race in the men's event.

Elsewhere for Britain, Scott Meenagh will compete in the 7.5km biathlon and GB's wheelchair curlers start their campaign against Norway.</s>Bach was given the Cheongryong Medal, South Korea’s highest sporting honour, by President Moon Jae-in in a ceremony at the Blue House in Seoul.

North and South Korea, still technically at war, marched together under the unification flag at the Opening Ceremony of Pyeongchang 2018 and, for the first time in Olympic history, competed together as part of a unified Korean women's ice hockey team.

Bach claimed during last month’s IOC Session that Pyeongchang 2018 has "brought real hope" to everybody in the Korean Peninsula by encouraging better relations between North and South.

Earlier this week, the Blue House said North Korea is willing to talk about getting rid of its nuclear weapons if its own safety can be guaranteed.

The subject was raised when South Korean officials met with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un during a rare visit to Pyongyang.

Kim also expressed his openness to talks with the United States, whose President Donald Trump today accepted to meet Kim by May.

The two Koreas later agreed for Kim and Moon to meet next month at a summit in the truce village of Panmunjom.

It will be the first meeting of its kind for more than a decade and the first since Kim took power in North Korea.

According to Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom, Moon told Bach at the ceremony: "North Korea came to take part in the Pyeongchang Olympics thanks to the IOC's active efforts and support.

"That allowed the South and the North to send special envoys to each other while enabling possible dialogue between the United States and North Korea.

Bach has also been awarded an honorary citizenship by Seoul City for his role in forming the unified Korean women's ice hockey team.

The honorary citizenship was awarded by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon at City Hall.

"I sincerely thank IOC President Thomas Bach for his deep interest in peace on the peninsula and for his devotion to make us feel that we were all united during the Pyeongchang Olympics," Park was reported as saying by The Korea Herald.

"The Olympics truly became the 'Peace Olympics'."

It was announced yesterday that the National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) North and South Korea will march separately at today's Opening Ceremony of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Paralympic Games, where Bach will be among those in attendance.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) had offered both countries the chance to march together under the same conditions as last month’s Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony.

But despite what the IPC describes as a "day of amicable and positive discussions between the two NPCs in the Paralympic Village", the two parties have decided against it.</s>The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) had offered both countries the chance to march together under the same conditions as last month’s Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in Pyeongchang.

But despite what the IPC describes as a "day of amicable and positive discussions between the two NPCs in the Paralympic Village", the two parties have decided against it.

"Although we are disappointed, we respect the decision of the two NPCs who decided that marching separately would be better for both parties," IPC President Andrew Parsons said.

"The IOC [International Olympic Committee] made great progress in opening up dialogue between the two nations ahead of last month's Olympic Winter Games and I think having North Korea participate in Pyeongchang 2018 is a great step forward for the Paralympic Movement.

"The fact that the NPC will make its Winter Games debut here in South Korea I also believe is hugely significant.

"During today’s discussions it was clear that NPC North Korea respects and values the IPC's vision and mission.

"Going forward, it has committed to working further with the IPC to improve the lives of people with an impairment in North Korea.

"At the end of the meeting both NPCs recognised that their participation in Pyeongchang 2018 has brought them closer together, and the two have committed to working more closely together in the future.

"I think this underlines the tremendous ability of sport to bring countries together in positive dialogue.

"I hope that now the decision has been made 24 hours in advance of the Opening Ceremony, the focus can now be on the performances of Para-athletes on the field of play, not the politics off it."

South Korea's news agency Yonhap quotes the Korea Paralympic Committee (KPC) as saying that the two Koreas failed to reach an agreement on whether they should march behind a unification flag showing Dokdo, the island grouping at the centre of a diplomatic dispute between South Korea and Japan.

Dokdo, known as Takeshima in Japan, consists of two main islands and about 30 smaller rocks.

Both Japan and South Korea claim the islands, as does North Korea.

The North said that it wanted the flag to show Dokdo, while the South apparently wanted to have the Korean unification flag without it so as not to politicise the event.

The IPC said it wanted the two Koreas to use the same unification flag that was carried at the Opening Ceremony of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, without Dodko.

According to the KPC, the IPC then decided that it did not want any further debate on the matter and suggested the two Koreas march separately at tomorrow’s Opening Ceremony.

KPC President Lee Myung-ho is said to have had another meeting with North Korea's Paralympic delegation chief Kim Mun-chol, who heads the Central Committee of the Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled, but the two parties were unable to reach an agreement.

"We wanted to have a moment of harmony for a peaceful Paralympics and Korean unity, but decided to respect each other's stance on the issue," the KPC was reported as saying by Yonhap.

"We hope both sides can continue to cooperate and contribute to having a successful Paralympic Games."

North Korea's 24-strong delegation arrived in South Korea yesterday through a land border north of the South Korean capital Seoul.

It received its official welcome to the Athletes' Village today.

Although there are six athletes in the delegation, only Nordic skiers Kim Jong-hyon and Ma Yu-chol will be competing at the country's first-ever Winter Paralympics.

The two Koreas, still technically at war, marched together under the unification flag at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony and, for the first time in the history of the Games, competed together as part of a unified Korean women's ice hockey team.

IOC President Thomas Bach claimed last month that Pyeongchang 2018 has "brought real hope" to everybody in the Korean Peninsula by encouraging better relations between North and South.

He also revealed that a final deal for North and South Korea to march together at the Opening Ceremony was only reached four hours before it took place and confirmed that four years of negotiations had taken place since the idea of a joint march was first raised in 2014.

insidethegames had exclusively revealed on the eve of the Opening Ceremony that North Korea were on the verge of boycotting the Games before being persuaded otherwise after meetings with the IOC and other stakeholders.

It followed comments by United States Vice-President Mike Pence, who said in Tokyo on his arrival in Asia to attend the Opening Ceremony that they planned to introduce the "toughest and most aggressive" sanctions against North Korea.

South Korean officials met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a rare meeting in Pyongyang on Monday (March 5) following a de-escalation of tensions - thought to be a result of the Olympics.

In a press conference here today, Pyeongchang 2018 President Lee Hee-beom said he was "very proud" of the improved dialogue between the two Koreas.</s>SEOUL: South Korea and isolated neighbour North Korea will not march together at the opening ceremony of the Paralympics, set for Friday in the South's mountain resort town of Pyeongchang, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said.

"After discussion with the North, the two Koreas decided not to march together at the opening ceremony," Yonhap said on Thursday, citing the Korea Paralympic Committee.

The Pyeongchang Paralympics will run until March 18.</s>Earlier this week, the South Korea President's office said North Korea is willing to talk about getting rid of its nuclear weapons if its own safety can be guaranteed.

It is claimed the subject was raised when South Korea's officials met with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un during a rare visit to Pyongyang.

Kim is also said to be open to talks with the United States and pausing weapons testing.

North Korea sent a 500-member delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics, with relations between the two Koreas claimed to have thawed during that time.

Athletes from both Koreas marched out under a unified flag at the Games' Opening Ceremony in a show of solidarity, while there was also a joint Korean women's ice hockey team.

Speaking here today on the eve of the Winter Paralympic Games, Lee expressed his pleasure over the recent developments.

"As I mentioned during my closing remarks at the Olympic Games Closing Ceremony, with North Korea and South Korea entering together at the Opening Ceremony and forming a unified team of the two Koreas, I think that this mode of peace is now going beyond the Games," he said.

"We hope that this can spread peace on the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia, and also around the world.

"This process that has been seen recently is reflecting my hopes on that point so I feel very proud and I feel it is a positive note."

Kim reportedly claimed last month he wanted to boost the "warm climate of reconciliation and dialogue" with South Korea after a high-level delegation, including his sister Kim Yo-jong, returned from Pyeongchang.

He and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are said to have agreed to meet at a summit in the truce village of Panmunjom next month.

It will be the first meeting of its kind for more than a decade and the first since Kim took power in North Korea.

The countries have also agreed to open a hotline between Kim and Moon.

South Korean envoys are expected to visit Washington later this week to brief US officials on their talks in North Korea.

Local media say they will bring a private message from Kim.

US President Donald Trump described the recent rhetoric coming out of North and South Korea as "very positive".

"Possible progress being made in talks with North Korea," he tweeted.

"For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned.

"The world is watching and waiting!

"May be false hope, but the US is ready to go hard in either direction!"

North Korea has sent six athletes to the Winter Paralympics, but only two - Nordic skiers Kim Jong-hyon and Ma Yu-chol - will compete.

It will be the first time the country has participated at a Winter Paralympics.

"Of course, the participation of North Korea with two Nordic skiers is extremely significant and sends out a strong message of peace through sport," International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons said.

"We are also interested in the message back to North Korea, in terms of what their participation at these Winter Games can generate when it comes to persons with an impairment in that country."

Today's comments, however, were made before the late announcement that North and South Korea will march separately at tomorrow's Pyeongchang 2018 Opening Ceremony, demonstrating that the relations between the two countries are perhaps not as amicable as previously thought.</s>10 days of competition at the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympic Games kicked off on Friday with the Opening Ceremony, which aired live on NBCSN at 6 a.m. ET. The Opening Ceremony was held at the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium in the venue hub known as the Mountain Cluser. The Olympic Stadium, which seats 35,000 people, also hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February.

Welcome to the Paralympic Games

The Opening Ceremony began with a drum performance led by Shin Myeong-Jin, a South Korean performer with a prosthetic arm and legs. The segment was an interpretation of “bin-rye,” a traditional welcoming ceremony performed for important guests to the royal court of Korea. The beating of the various drums symbolized the “passionately pounding hearts” of the athletes, according to the official media guide.

One of the themes of the Opening Ceremony was passion and its ability to bring people together. The 2018 Paralympic organizers took inspiration from the Latin word “Agitos,” which translates to “I move.” They explained in the media guide that “passion is the source of energy that derives us to move. It creates the world of coexistence where there is no distinction of people by impairment but the recognition of differences… I move; therfore, I exist.”

The U.S. Paralympic team was led into the Opening Ceremony by snowboarder Mike Schultz, a world silver medalist in the new Paralympic event of banked slalom. Before becoming a snowboarder, Schultz was a competitive snowmobiler. In 2008, Schultz’s left leg was amputated above the knee after a snowmobiling crash. Schultz started creating his own prosthetics and many of his competitiors in PyeongChang will wear prosthetics made by Schultz.

Schultz told the AP, “I do take a lot of pride in knowing that I’ve helped these athletes step up their performance game a little bit — or a lot. It’s very rewarding to see these athletes really bring their ‘A’ game and do the level of riding that they all do.”

Unlike at the 2018 Winter Olympics, the two athlete delegations from North and South Korea marched into the Opening Ceremony separately. North Korea is participating in the Winter Paralympics for the first time in PyeongChang. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) offered two special spots to North Korean Nordic skiers

After the North and South Korean delegations decided against marching together, IPC president Andrew Parsons said in a press release, “Although we are disappointed, we respect the decision of the two [National Paralympic Committees] who decided that marching separately would be better for both parties. At the end of the meeting both [National Paralympic Committees] recognized that their participation in PyeongChang 2018 has brought them closer together, and the two have committed to working more closely together in the future.”

Pairs of athletes–a cross-country skier and her coach, a father and son, and an Alpine skier with a visual impairment and her guide–continued the Olympic torch relay into the Olympic Stadium. One of the final torch bearers was Han Min-Su, a member of the South Korean sled hockey team. The torch was attached to his backpack, and he used a rope to climb up the final portion of the ramp to the Olympic cauldron. At the top, he handed the torch over to two curlers: Seo Soon-Seok, the skip of the South Korean men’s wheelchair curling team, and Kim Eun-Jung, the skip of the South Korean women’s curling team that won a silver medal at last month’s Olympics.

Together, Seo and Kim lit the white porcelain cauldron, which is the same one used for the PyeongChang Olympics. The cauldron is inspired by the traditional piece of pottery known as the “moon jar,” and resembles a full moon.

The Opening Ceremony concluded with a fireworks show that lit up the sky above PyeongChang.</s>North and South Korea will march separately at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced.

The two countries walked out together under a united flag at the Olympics last month and the IPC offered them the same opportunity again.

However, after "a day of amicable and positive discussions" in the Paralympic Village, the decision was made that there will be no repeat at Friday's ceremony.

"Although we are disappointed, we respect the decision of the two National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) who decided that marching separately would be better for both parties," IPC president Andrew Parsons said in a release Thursday. "The IOC made great progress in opening up dialogue between the two nations ahead of last month's Olympic Winter Games and I think having North Korea participate in Pyeongchang 2018 is a great step forward for the Paralympic Movement.

"The fact that the NPC will make its Winter Games debut here in South Korea, I also believe, is hugely significant. During today's discussions it was clear that NPC North Korea respects and values the IPC's vision and mission. Going forward, it has committed to working further with the IPC to improve the lives of people with an impairment in North Korea.

"At the end of the meeting, both NPCs recognized that their participation in Pyeongchang 2018 has brought them closer together, and the two have committed to working more closely together in the future. I think this underlines the tremendous ability of sport to bring countries together in positive dialogue.

"I hope that now the decision has been made 24 hours in advance of the opening ceremony, the focus can now be on the performances of Para athletes on the field of play, not the politics off it."

The Winter Olympics featured a unified Korean ice hockey team in the women's competition.</s>The 2018 Winter Paralympic games will be held in PyeongChang, South Korea from March 9-18 this year. The event is officially known as the XII Paralympic Winter Games and also referred to as the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympics. It will cover 80 events in 6 sports with over 670 athletes participating this year.The six sports are, alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, Para ice hockey, snowboarding and wheelchair curling.Three countries will be making their first Winter Paralympics appearance in South Korea. North Korea and Georgia are sending two athletes each, while Tajikistan has entered their first athlete.The Winter Paralympics have been held since 1976, when the Games debuted in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Google’s colorful Doodle depicts a line-up of athletes racing in all six qualifying sports.For PyeongChang, this is the third consecutive bid for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which it ultimately won. This year, the contenders included Annecy in French Alps and Munich in Germany. The ticket prices for the sporting event range from $15 (around Rs 1,000) to $45 (around Rs 3,000). The IOC said that over 70 percent of the tickets were sold as of January 19.It is not clear whether Google plans to have a new doodle during every day of the Paralympics like it did during the Winter Games.
The opening ceremony of the 2018 Paralympic Games in South Korea takes place.