The Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium erupted on Friday when the unified Korean team was announced, marching out together under a single flag. At least one person, though, did not see cause to celebrate the occasion: Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence — who has been known to leave the building if he does not think the American flag is being properly respected — did not stand for any nation other than Team USA at the opening ceremony, The Associated Press reports.
Pence's presence at the Games is intended to send a stern message of American resolve to North Korea, even as others have celebrated the symbolism of a unified Korean Olympic team. "Many considered it an impossible dream to have an Olympics of peace, in which North Korea would participate and the two Koreas would form a joint team," said South Korean President Moon Jae-in earlier this week.
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The vice president was not the only symbolic political figure in the building. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, also attended the opening ceremony — the "first time a member of North Korea's ruling family has crossed the border since the 1950 Korean War," Al Jazeera writes.
Watch the North Korean delegation celebrate the entrance of Team Korea below. Jeva Lange
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