As the 2018 Winter Olympics approach, the world anxiously awaits to see what conflict could arise between North Korea and the United States and how this would affect the international sporting event. Between tweets from President Trump, missile threats and warnings from North Korea, the possibility of war mobilizations looms.

   Since the 2018 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea, safety is a growing concern as tensions rise between the world giants and the North Korean government. The Korean War, which began in 1950, never came to a clear end and has only temporarily stopped since no peace treaty was ever signed. However, the two nations signed an armistice in July of 1953 which put a standstill to the fighting.

   The armistice allowed for the countries to form the Korean Demilitarized Zone which created an official border between the two countries. This armistice, however, did not put an end to the escalating tension between the two countries and many are wondering how this will impact the Olympics.

  The Olympics will begin with the opening ceremony on February 9, and officials have noticed that ticket sales for the event have not been anywhere near what they expected. Officers on the Olympic Board are blaming the low ticket sales on the fear that North Korea will attack the southern half of the peninsula during the competition.

  The United States is not the only country that is concerned about the possible growing threat on the games. France’s Winter Olympic team has stated that they could possibly withdraw from attending the games if threats and tension continue and the security of its athletes and people are in question.

  “[If] our security cannot be assured, the French Olympics team will stay at home,” France’s Sports Minister, Lura Flessel said to RTL radio in an interview.

 North Korea has not yet had any athletes qualify to attend the winter games but nothing is final because qualification matches are still going on. South Korea states that the safety of all attendees and athletes is their main priority, and they will take precautions to assure that everything runs smoothly.

 Similarly, Canada is also on the lookout for any signs of danger with their athletes attending the games.

  “We work closely with… security agencies to ensure the safest and most secure environment possible for our athletes,” Chris Overholt, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee stated.

  Pyeongchang lies only 50 miles away from the North Korean border. This is a significantly small distance considering that officials expect to sell over one million tickets for the event.

  As the situation stands, there is no clear indication of what could possibly happen at the event; people around the world will continue to anxiously wait to see what will develop other than the arranged competition.