Amid rising nuclear tensions, two figure skaters Friday became the first North Korean athletes to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics, which will be held just 40 miles south of the demilitarized zone in South Korea, CNN reports.
According to the New York Times, 18-year-old Ryom Tae-Ok and 25-year-old Kim Ju-Sik, who have been training in Canada with a French coach, finished with a score of 180.09 at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany. It was a career-best performance in an international competition for the pair.