Olympic flame arrives in South Korea for 2018 Pyeongchang Games

The Olympic flame arrived in South Korea today to begin its journey towards the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. South Korean sports minister Do Jong-hwan and 2010 Vancouver Games figure skating champion Kim Yuna carried the flame in a special lantern off a Korean Air flight from Greece after it was handed over to 2018 organisers at a ceremony yesterday. 

Figure skater Kim and South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon then lit a cauldron with the Olympic flame, which was last seen in South Korea almost 30 years ago during the



1988 Seoul Summer Games.

In a nod to the year of the Games, the torch relay will cover 2,018 kilometres through nine provinces, eight major cities, and more than 150 counties and districts before it winds up at its destination in Pyeongchang, some 180 kilometres east of the capital Seoul.

The Games kick off on February 9 and will feature approximately 3,000 athletes from 95 NOCs, though there has been no confirmation whether North Korea plan to take part.