Winter Olympics spectacle kicks off with signs of Korean unity

Members of the North Korean cheering band wave flags before the start of the opening ceremony for the 2018 Winter Olympics on Feb. 9.

Fireworks explode outside the Olympic Stadium.

Performers entertain fans during the ceremony.

The ceremony featured impressive light displays.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.

Drummers take the stage.

Performances displayed the sweep of Korean history and culture.

Some 35,000 spectators attended the ceremony. 

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence talks with his wife Karen just a row in front of Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam, center.

Photos: The tangled family history of North Korea's Kim Jong Un

North Korean ice hockey player Hwang Chung Gum and South Korean bobsledder Won Yun-jong, right, wave a Korean unification flag as they lead the Korean delegation.

Pita Taufatofua carries the flag of Tonga.

U.S. flagbearer Erin Hamlin leads the delegation during the Parade of Athletes.

The ceremony featured 2,900 athletes from about 90 nations.

Members of Team Great Britain enter the stadium.

Candles form the shape of a dove.

The North Korea and South Korea Olympic teams enter together under the Korean Unification Flag.

The escalating tension over the Korean Peninsula has temporarily subsided to allow both North and South Korean athletes to march — and for the first time, compete together under a unified flag — even as both nations technically remain at war.

While competition began earlier in some sports, the first medal events are set to take place Saturday.

North Korea's Jong Su Hyon, left, and South Korea's Park Jong-ah carry the torch.

South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na prepares to light the cauldron with the Olympic Flame.

The Olympic Flame burns.

The German delegation waves South Korean and German flags.

The ceremony was titled "Peace in Motion."

Russian athletes march under a neutral flag. The International Olympic Committee had banned Russia because of a massive doping scheme at the 2014 Sochi Games, but gave individual athletes the chance to apply for admission to compete as "Olympic Athletes from Russia."

These games are the first in South Korea since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. 

Flagbearer Lizzy Yarnold leads the Great Britain delegation.

The U.S. delegation parades through the stadium.

Spectators watch fireworks from outside the stadium.

The games run through Feb. 25.

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