North Korea's famed cheerleading troupe stole the spotlight at Olympic short-track speedskating with Mike Pence just a few sections away

Gangneung, South Korea • Heads turned, cameras rolled, phones were held as still as possible.

It was an exhibit. An entire section of synchronized chants every single break in the action at Saturday night’s premier of short-track speedskating at these 2018 Olympic Winter Games. The attraction? Well, they’re called the “Army of Beauties,” North Korea’s famed national cheerleading squad. The entire night, they cheered, even looping in South Korean fans seated in neighboring sections to join in on certain cheers.

They kept it going.

For one whole hour the troupe, emblazoned in their trademark red outfits, stole the show. When North Korea’s Choe Un Song skated in the third heat of the men’s 1,500-meter preliminary races, they screamed his name for all 13.5 laps, waving the flags of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

In the next heat, when South Korea star skater Lim Hyojun was up, they put down their home country flags and waved the white and blue unification flags that were introduced at Friday night’s Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang.

They dueled with the DJ blasting pop music hits and the five-piece band on the other end of the arena, and won every single bout. They were the source of attention between races, and at times, during the high-octane racing in such confined spaces. During breaks, they participated in portions of “The Wave,” smiles plastered across their faces.

Roughly 230 members were dispatched to attend these Games to the south as a delegation of sorts. This vivacious group is just a chapter to an ongoing diplomatic maneuvers from the North and leader Kim Jong Un. On Saturday afternoon here, news broke that Kim Jong Un extended a lengthy olive branch, inviting South Korean president Moon Jae-in to meet in North Korea’s capital city of Pyongyang.

This came a day after Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, attended the Opening Ceremony, the first time a member of the Kim family has set foot in South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953. This leaves much to the imagination as to what the angle is, why now, why would Kim — notoriously outspoken about his military and his increasing nuclear capabilities — choose this moment as the time to take a large step toward more diplomacy.

A power play? Perhaps. A strategic one.

North Korea has undoubtedly taken advantage of the proximity of these Games. Led by Kim Yo Jong, the “Army of Beauties” and the participating North Korean athletes, they’ve joined in marching together in the Opening Ceremony, joined the unified Korean women’s hockey team and have a mighty clique in this group of cheerleaders turning heads with song.

This spectacle eventually died down as the night wore on.

As the women’s 500-meter qualifying heats began, U.S. vice president Mike Pence was settled in at the Gangneung Ice Arena with his wife and president Moo Jae-in. Pence has been outspoken during his time at these Games, standing firm on this administration’s stance on North Korea. During the Opening Ceremony Friday night, he stayed seated when the Korean athlete contingent marched together.

The cameras, so focused on the North Korean hype squad for the first hour of the night eventually moved down the walkway, turning their lenses to center-ice and Pence, who stayed comfortably seated as the races continued. And the songs that captivated the arena were ironically muted around the same time.