Poignant Moment: Athletes from South Korea North Korea Parade Together As One Team, Under One Flag, in Historic and Breath-Taking Opening Ceremony of Pyeongchang Winter Olympics

Intel set a Guinness World Record for the most drones flown simultaneously – more than 1,200 – during the first drone light show in the history of Olympic Games

North and South Korea marched into the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics as one nation under a unified flag on Friday as the Pyeongchang Games officially kicked off.

Athletes from both countries walked into the main stadium amid a ceremony featuring huge puppets, 1,200 drones and thousands of dancers that was themed around the search for peace.

As they came into the stadium they were greeted by a song called Arirang, a folk tune that was later used as the resistance anthem when Korea was under Japanese imperial rule.

Inside the area 30,000 people, including a 200-strong North Korean cheerleading squad, watched in -3C temperatures as they were encouraged to bang drums given to them in an extreme weather kit to keep warm.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam, who had earlier shaken hands in an historic meeting, clapped and waved in unison as the team entered.

Athletes from both North and South Korea marched out together at the opening ceremony of the Pyeongyang Winter Olympics under a flag depicting a unified Korean peninsula

In total North Korea has send 22 athletes to the games who will be competing across five disciplines, including figure skating, skiing and speed skating

North Korean ice hockey player Hwang Chung Gum (left) and South Korean bobsledder Won Yun-jong (right) carried out the flag together in a show of unity

Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s President, has been touting the Games as the ‘peace’ Olympics, and the opening ceremony was entirely themed around unity and shared history

The teams marched into the arena to a tune called Arirang, a folk song that was later used as the resistance anthem when Korea was under Japanese imperial rule

North and South Korean athletes pose for a selfie before walking out under the unity flag

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and First Lady Kim Jung-sook (front left) applaud the joint Korean team as North Korea’s ceremonial leader Kim Yong Nam and Kim Yo Jong, sister of Kim Jong Un (back right) wave to their athletes

North Korean Jong Su Hyon and South Korean Park Jong-ah, both members of the unified Korean hockey team which is playing together at the games, carry the Olympic torch to light the cauldron

Kim was handed the torch by a pair of players from the unified Korean ice hockey team before lighting the cauldron

The ceremony was capped by the lighting of the Olympic torch by Kim Yu-na, the 2010 Olympic champion in figure skating, using a mechanism that extended up towards the cauldron before it ignited

With the lighting of the flame the Winter Olympics were declared open, prompting a huge fireworks display

The Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Pyeongchang kicked off with a bang on Friday as both North and South joined together to put on a display of peace and unity

Lights embedded in the back of spectators’ seats are used to illuminate the stadium as a final flurry of fireworks explodes overhead and the Winter Olympics officially open

An explosion of fireworks fills the main stadium after the lighting of the torch as the Pyeongchang Olympics officially opened

The ceremony started with five children setting off on a quest to find peace, which has become the theme of the games

The children were accompanied on their quest by the White Tiger, one of the four guardian gods and protectors of peace

Alongside the huge puppets were spectacular light displays and thousands of dancers wearing traditional Korean costumes

Alongside the huge puppets were spectacular light displays and thousands of dancers wearing traditional Korean costumes

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Projections were also cast on to the ice to tell the second section of the story, entitled Land of Peace, which sees unity and order brought to a chaotic universe

Bizarre puppets and elaborately dressed dancers join the children on stage as they journey on their quest

Dancers and puppeteers take part in the opening ceremony, which is taking place in temperatures of -3C

Hundreds of drummers fill the center of the Olympic stadium as the first section of the ceremony comes to a close

The drummers were part of the mesmerizing display that finished as the parade of nations began

The quest saw the children swept along the River of Time on a raft, representing the turmoil of Korean history

Dozens of huge and bizarre puppets, representing mythological figures from Korea, featured in the display

The children celebrate completing their quest as the first part of the opening ceremony finishes

Intel set a Guinness World Record for the most drones flown simultaneously – more than 1,200 – during the first drone light show in the history of Olympic Games

SOURCE: Daily Mail, Nick Fagge, Shekhar Bahtia, Chris Pleasance