North Korea sent six athletes to the first Winter Paralympics in South Korea, but only two -- Ma Yu-chol and Kim Jong-hyon -- competed in the events. The other four came here as observers.

Ma and Kim competed in two sitting cross-country skiing events -- 15-kilometer and 1.1-kilometer sprint. They were the bottom two performers among 27 contestants in the 15km, and took 31st and 32nd place, respectively, among 36 competitors in the 1.1km sprint.

Although their competition results were not impressive, Ma and Kim made history as they became the first two North Koreans to compete at the Winter Paralympics. Before PyeongChang 2018, North Korea had only appeared at two Summer Paralympics: London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016.

Ma and Kim were able to participate in the 12th Winter Paralympics after the International Paralympic Committee gave a special invitation to North Korea.

The North Koreans didn't have a joint march with South Koreans at the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Paralympics last Friday, but they still created a moment of harmony. During the opening ceremony, Ma carried the Paralympic torch with South Korean athlete Choi Bo-gue.

"I agree with what you guys said," Hwang Chung-song, a senior North Korean official at the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, said when reporters suggested the PyeongChang Paralympics were a meaningful event for reconciliation between the South and the North. (Yonhap)