(Image source from: nbcnews.com)

Seol:
The Winter Olympics begin today in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and North Korea stays off a formal dialogue or seeking one, with US delegation. Jo Yong Sam, department director general of North Korea's foreign ministry, said North Korea has never "begged the US for dialogue" and wasn't about to start now. Jo stated "We have no intention to meet the US side during our visit to South Korea,"

This is a blunt refusal after pence has been speaking of being open to a dialogue with North Korea. As such a meeting could be a major diplomatic breakthrough amid all the tiff between Washington and North Korea regarding Nuclear prominence.

Vice President Mike Pence stated in a speech to US troops at Yokota Air base in Japan, “Our forces are ready and our nation is resolved. The United States will always seek peace, we will ever strive for a better future, but you the instruments of American power know and let our adversaries know all options are on the table. America stands strong with the proud and free people of South Korea and we always will.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated “With respect to the vice president’s trip to the Olympics and whether there would be an opportunity for any kind of a meeting with North Korea, I think we’ll just see,” he added “We’ll have to see what happens.”

“We’re traveling to the Olympics to make sure that North Korea doesn’t use the powerful symbolism and the backdrop of the Winter Olympics to paper over the truth about their regime,” Pence said

Despite the confusion over talks, Pence also stated, “Washington will soon impose its harshest-ever sanctions on Pyongyang” Since the rhetoric between Pyongyang and Washington seems to get from bad to worse. He added, “we will not allow North Korean propaganda to hijack the message and imagery of the Olympic Games. We will continue to intensify our maximum pressure campaign until North Korea takes concrete steps toward complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation”

And with Kim Jong Un’s New Year speech, stating their willingness to open discussions with South Korea, this Winter Olympics would be a great platform for them.

The North Korean delegation for the Olympics would be 22 member unit lead by Kim Yo Jong one of the most powerful North Korean’s politician and also sister of North Korean President. This is being looked up by diplomats as a breakthrough to resolve one of the most dangerous crisis.

North Korea stages a highly anticipated Military Parade today in the capital Pyongyang featuring hundreds of rockets and missiles. Around 50000 people including13k soldiers gathered at around same time when the welcome ceremony for Winter Olympic participants concluded in South Korea.

"The North Koreans tend to act out like this even during periods of quiet to demonstrate their independence and to try to convince us that their nuclear arsenal is beyond limits," said Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists.

"It's a clear sign of defiance, and they intend it to be."

Tensions have surmounted after series of intercontinental ballistic missile tests by North Korea in November and this the much needed dialogue between South and North Korea to resolve the feud and tensions.

This is a developing story, more to come in further.

By Minu Manisha