"Amid pressing international conflicts, the Olympics is one of the most significant geopolitical events of the year."

Bach said he regarded North Korea's participation purely in sporting terms despite the rapid round of diplomacy between the two Koreas during the opening days of the Games. "This is about sport and this the IOC made very clear," Bach told AFP in an interview.

There are 206 National Olympic Committees worldwide, which are devised by the IOC and the International Sport Federation. These two organizations are the sole authorities who come together to recognize NOCs for the official Summer and Winter Games.

The media, like most all industries, can at times fall prey to groupthink. The latest example: the coverage of North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong (pictured above). Critics from the right and left promptly tore into the warped coverage.

If one of the athletes wanted to defect, the time is right -- but that's not likely to happen, experts say. "One of the main reasons North Korean athletes don't defect is because of their families back in North Korea," Benjamin Young, a doctoral candidate ...

North Korea's delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea will include a 140-member orchestra, the two sides agreed Monday, while discussions continue over fielding a joint women's hockey team. The two Koreas met Monday for the second time in a week ...