Soon, 'toughest ever' US sanctions on N Korea

United States Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday said that Washington is planning to impose "toughest and most aggressive" sanctions against Pyongyang.

"Together with Japan, and all our allies, we will continue to intensify our maximum pressure campaign until North Korea takes concrete steps toward complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization," CNN quoted Pence as saying.

Pence, who reached Tokyo on Tuesday, is scheduled to attend the Winter Olympics' Opening Ceremony in South Korea on Friday.

The U.S. Vice President further said that the purpose of his trip was to "make sure that North Korea doesn't use the powerful symbolism and the backdrop of the Winter Olympics to paper over the truth about their regime."

North Korea has never participated in an Olympic Games in South Korea. Seoul, which hosted the Summer Olympics in 1988 was boycotted by North Korea.

Also, the two countries have never had a unified team in any sport at the Olympics before.

However, the two Koreas competed at the world table tennis championships and the world youth football championships as one country in 1991.

North and South Korea have agreed to field a joint women's ice hockey team and march together under a unified Korea flag at the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

The two Koreas also agreed to hold a joint cultural event at Mount Kumgang on the North Korean east coast before the Winter Games.

Also, a joint training will be conducted among the ski athletes at Masikryong Ski Resort in North Korea.

The Winter Olympics is scheduled to take place at South Korea's Pyeongchang from February 9-25.

The development between the two countries has brought some ease to their strained relations.

The two sides have also agreed to hold military talks to resolve border issues.