text: North Korea on Friday secured its presence at South Korea's Pyeongchang Olympics in February with figure skaters Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik grabbing one of the last qualifying spots on offer at the Nebelhorn trophy. 
   
   The pair's Olympic qualification is seen as positive development amid an escalating crisis on the Korean peninsula and the potential complications this could have for the Games. 
   
   The International Olympic Committee was eager to have North Korean athletes at the Games and has been supporting several of them in terms of equipment, travel and accommodation in their efforts to qualify. 
   
   North Korean speed skaters and Nordic skiers could join the figure skaters with their own qualifiers coming up. 
   
   The Pyongyang natives successfully completed a solid short program to music by the Beatles on Thursday and produced an even better free skate performance to "Je suis qu'une chanson" to make sure of one of five Olympic qualifying spots on offer. 
   
   Kim pumped his fists at the end of their routine, hugging his partner before a team official wrapped a jacket over him. 
   
   The International Skating Union (ISU) confirmed their qualification for Pyeongchang, with Russia and Germany, who were top, having already qualified for the Games in South Korea. 
   
   The final decision regarding their Olympic participation rests with the North Korean Olympic committee which needs to give the green light. 
   
   North Korea did not have any athletes at the 2014 Sochi winter Games. 
   
   Tension on the Korean peninsula has risen in recent weeks as North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump exchanged war-like threats and insults over the North's nuclear and missile development program. 
   
   The North has accused Trump of declaring war after he warned Kim's regime would not last if he persisted in threatening the United States and its allies, having earlier warned North Korea would be totally destroyed in such an event. 
   
   South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in July the North will be given until the last minute to decide whether it will take part in the Olympics. ||||| Story highlights Pair are first North Korean athletes to qualify for 2018 Winter Olympics 
   
   Winter Olympics will be held in South Korea from 9-25 February 
   
   (CNN) In the small Bavarian ski-town of Oberstdorf, figure skaters Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-sik became the first North Korean athletes to qualify for South Korea's 2018 Winter Olympics -- a development that could have diplomatic implications as well as sporting ones. 
   
   The pair -- who perform to the music of The Beatles and have been training in Canada -- produced an impressive free-skate performance to secure one of the final Olympic spots up for grabs at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany in September. 
   
   Ryom, 18, and 25-year-old Kim finished 15th at the World Championships last season and spent the summer training in Montreal under French coach, Bruno Marcotte. 
   
   Their qualification will be welcome news to South Korea's President Moon Jae-in, who earlier this month told CNN that North Korean participation in PyeongChang will "provide a very good opportunity for inter-Korean peace and reconciliation." 
   
   Read More ||||| The two nations have been on convivial sporting terms this year — North Korea sent its women’s hockey team and a taekwondo team to compete in the South — but the Olympics have never gone forward free of geopolitics. 
   
   North Korea boycotted the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, the South Korean capital. And North Korea’s current leader, Kim Jong-un, is highly unpredictable. 
   
   When the skaters were asked minutes after Friday’s performance if they hoped to compete at the Games, their coach, Kim Hyon-son, stepped in and said, “It is up to the North Korean Olympic Committee to decide whether they will participate or not.” 
   
   The North Koreans appeared relaxed and open — to a point — at a second meeting with reporters after the competition here, the Nebelhorn Trophy, but requested that no questions be asked about the Olympics. Their reluctance probably stemmed from the fact that the decision will not be theirs, said Bruno Marcotte, a prominent French Canadian coach who also works with the skaters. 
   
   “It’s out of their hands,” he said. 
   
   Clearly, though, the outcome was important to North Korea. It has invested considerable time and money to make Ms. Ryom and Mr. Kim eligible for the Winter Games and respected at the international level. The skaters trained over the summer in Montreal with Mr. Marcotte, whose wife, Meagan Duhamel, is a two-time world pairs champion. And the pressure of a suitable performance here seemed to weigh on Ri Chol-un, an official with the North Korean skating federation.
target: – Amid rising nuclear tensions, two figure skaters Friday became the first North Korean athletes to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics, which will be held just 40 miles south of the demilitarized zone in South Korea, CNN reports. According to the New York Times, 18-year-old Ryom Tae-Ok and 25-year-old Kim Ju-Sik, who have been training in Canada with a French coach, finished with a score of 180.09 at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany. It was a career-best performance in an international competition for the pair. Kim says they were motivated by their coaches and the people cheering for them. Ryom agreed: "There were many people of different nationalities and backgrounds cheering for us. The fact that we gave them some kind of joy, that was the best part in the performance." While Kim and Ryom's sixth place finish in Germany was enough to nab them one of the final spots in February's Olympics, it remains unclear if they'll actually compete, Reuters reports. The decision rests with the North Korea Olympic Committee. Both South Korea and the International Olympic Committee have been pushing for North Korean athletes to participate in the Games, hoping it will be a diplomatic balm for the countries. The IOC has been providing travel, equipment, and accommodation to North Korean athletes attempting to qualify (North Korean skiers and speed skaters still have a shot), and South Korea's president said North Korea will have as much time as possible to decide if it will participate. North Korea boycotted the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea, but it did send a women's hockey team and taekwondo team to competitions in South Korea this year.