Regardless of the inter-Korean and sports rivalry enveloping them, South Korean figure skating pair Kim Kyu-eun, 19, and Kam Kang-chan, 23, are seemingly in a fairly great relationship with the North Korean pair Ryom Tae-ok, 19, and Kim Ju-sik, 26. The pairs trained alongside each other at Gangneung Ice Arena, Monday, for a session that lasted about 40 minutes from 3 p.m. during which they smiled at each other when their eyes met. Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik (Yonhap)Throngs of Korean and foreign

South and North Korean pair figure skaters shared the ice for the first time during a practice session at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Monday. The two pairs from each half of the peninsula, Kim Kyu-eun and Kam Kang-chan from the South and Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik from the North, practiced side by side ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which start Friday. It was the first time the Kim-Kam duo practiced at the Gangneung Ice Arena. Ryom and Kim arrived in South Korea last Thursday and began

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- South Korea's national short track speed skating team started training in the Olympic city of Gangneung on Tuesday, highly confident of their prospects at the upcoming PyeongChang Games.The five male and five female skaters focused on speed and teamwork at the first training session at the ice rink at Gangneung Yeongdong University in the sub-host city of the Olympics.They arrived in Gangneung on Monday. The Winter Games are set to kick off Friday."We have finished trai

The Olympics offer the chance to witness the top athletes from around the world, but the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Games will also allow visitors to experience K-pop entertainment.“We are preparing around 400 various events during 20-30 minute intermissions to wow and entertain fans,” an official from the sports presentation division of the organizing committee for the Olympic Games said.Participating K-pop artists include boy band Teen Top, girl group Momoland and singers like Ail

South Korean government will exempt freeway fees for drivers passing through toll gates adjacent to venues of 2018 PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Games. According to the event’s organizing committee and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, any car that passes through the eight tollgates of Myeonon, PyeongChang, Soksa, Jinbu, Daegwanryeong, Gangneung, North Gangneung and South Gangneung in Gangwon Province.  (Yonhap)The benefit will be made available to not only the cars that a

South Korean President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed his efforts Monday to make the upcoming Winter Olympic Games here a success, saying the event will mark the start of establishing peace in the region. The remarks came in the 132nd session of the International Olympic Committee, held in Gangneung, a coastal city located 230 kilometers east of Seoul."Now, the IOC and the Republic of Korea are joined here together with the opening of peaceful and safe Olympic Games that we have worked together for just

Chang Ung, the lone North Korean member of the International Olympics Committee, said Monday he wishes athletes from his country to "do their best" at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics."I haven't had the opportunity to meet with the North Korean athletes. I will tell them to do their best," Chang said at the cafeteria of the PyeongChang Olympic Village, the main athletes' village of the first Winter Games in South Korea. Chang Ung (Yonhap)Chang, a former basketball player, was participating in a V

Faizul Hazly, Malaysian local food company Mamee’s executive chef, said he “will ensure to prepare around 20 halal meals that meet the international standard” for Muslim delegates from around the world, the chef said in an interview with The Herald Business.  Malaysian local food company Mamee’s executive chef Faizul Hazly displays halal foods at the headquarters of Shinsegae Food in Seoul on Friday. The Herald BusinessBased at the catering venue of both Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games slate

The PyeongChang Olympics will set a record for most condoms distributed during the Winter Games.According to the PyeongChang Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Thursday, about 110,000 condoms will be doled out at the Olympic Village and venues. With 2,925 men and women set to participate, it averages out to nearly 38 condoms per athlete over the two-week period, although they will also be accessible to Olympic staff.The Korean Association for AIDS Prevention supplied 10,00

Both local and global media predict that PyeongChang could be the coldest Winter Olympics witnessed in recent decades. The northeastern Gangwon Province, where Pyeongchang county is located, is generally considered the coldest region in South Korea. This year is seeing a particularly cold winter, with ice sheets in rivers and lakes freezing some 25 centimeters thicker on average than last year, according to reports.The following are several tips for braving the cold and ingenious heat-trapping i

The PyeongChang Winter Olympics are just around the corner, with opening ceremonies kicking off Friday.For those who have never been to the Gangwon Province, where the Olympic and Paralympic Games are to take place, the easiest way to get to the region will be via KTX trains.Shot by Lim Jeong-yeo / Edited by Lim Jeong-yeo Gyeonggang Line KTX, the bullet train to Gangwon Province, launched its service on Dec. 22, 2017. The line was built specifically for the Olympics, and cuts down travel time fr

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will give its best efforts in cooperation with experts from around the world to protect athletes from harassment and abuse at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, its leader on athlete safeguarding programs said Sunday.Susan Greinig, the IOC Safeguarding Officer, emphasized that the IOC is trying to find solutions to harassment and abuse toward athletes. She said this has been the IOC's work since 2004."The fact that sport is a microcosm of society, this (ha

The historic joint Korean women's hockey team made its much-anticipated debut against Sweden on Sunday, with 18 South Koreans joined by four North Koreans in their only tuneup game before the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.None of those four players -- forwards Jong Su-hyon, Ryo Song-hui and Kim Un-hyang, and defenseman Hwang Chung-gum -- made much of an impact, as Sweden prevailed 3-1 at Seonhak International Ice Rink in Incheon, just west of Seoul. Joint team plays at Seonhak International Ice Ri

South Korea's figure skating duo of Kim Kyu-eun and Kam Kang-chan may share the ice with their North Korean counterparts Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik in an official practice session for the upcoming 2018 PyeogChang Winter Olympic Games, officials said Sunday."The pairs teams from South Korea and North Korea are sorted into group C for Monday's practice sessions," an official from the organizing committee for the Feb. 9-25 PyeongChang Olympics said."They will be on the ice together at Gangneung Ice

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said Sunday South Korean organizers have done extraordinary work in preparing for the Winter Olympics.At a press conference in PyeongChang, Bach also expressed his regret that the Court of Arbitration of Sport's (CAS) recent decision lifted Olympic bans on 28 Russian athletes involved in a state-sponsored doping scandal."There are details to be done, but overall the state of preparations is really extraordinary," Bach said during his pr