The 2018 Winter Olympics began the other week in Pyeongchang, South Korea; therefore, so did the analysis of every move made by representatives of each country.

The main political focus surrounding this year's Olympics revolves around a three-country triangle of sorts. The United States, South Korea, and North Korea have all been under a microscope for some time now. The focus on the countries has only intensified under the Trump administration.

As the Olympic ceremonies began, Mike Pence was immediately criticized for his refusal to stand for any country other than the United States. The biggest piece of criticism revolved around Mike Pence for not standing for the unified Korean team.

The media had a field day, repeatedly criticizing Pence for not standing for other countries. That is all and well. We can criticize Mike Pence for a lot, he is not really a great person nor politician.

However, the fawning over the sister of Kim Jong Un we have seen in the immediate aftermath of this event is repulsive.

We can have a laugh at Pence, expressing a political point by not staying seated; yet leaving an NFL game due to anthem protests. Have a laugh at it. Pence does not generally receive positive criticism, so why would it start here?

However, just because Pence is a hypocrite does not make Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, a good person or diplomat.

While the New York Times spent time bashing Ivanka Trump, the publication followed the ceremonies discussing the "charm" left by Kim Yo-jong.

There is no charm here. There is no charm in anything any member of the ruling elite from North Korea does. North Korea could ship the United States a brand new, solid gold Statue of Liberty and it would not be charming.

There is no room for praise of any member of the Kim dynasty; they are all vile people whose ideologies will hopefully be eradicated from the planet.

While CNN thinks the stage revolves around Kim Yo-jong, those with basic critical thinking skills understand the reality of the situation. No amount of PR power plays will change what North Korea is: the most oppressive regime in the world today, and one of the worst in world history.

The country that names itself the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is truly anything but democratic. The Kim family has been ruling the country with an iron fist for generations, and no country consistently violates human rights laws like North Korea.

There is no room for praise of any member of this regime.

Those in North Korea that speak out in any sort of dissent are slaughtered and treated as a subspecies.

As the American media criticizes Mike Pence, must we forget what occurred just recently during this administration?

A college student by the name of Otto Warmbier was taken prisoner in North Korea for stealing a political sign.

Otto was then tortured for months before his release to America, where he quickly passed away.

This is not a regime to have admiration for, in any way, shape, or form. Otto's injuries were the reason for his death, and the torture of Americans by the regime is not something to be forgotten.

North Korea remains at the forefront of human rights violations consistently. In 2014, a report surfaced that Kim Jong Un had his uncle

slaughtered at the hands of animals. However, the biggest systematic issue with North Korea happens daily. Despite its denial of any wrongdoing, the isolated country runs political prison camps. The camps systematically attempt to eliminate differing political ideologies. Details about the political prison camps in the country continue to surface as some manage to escape the nation. The reports are horrendous each time.

The mass systematic starvation, torture, and murder of political opponents is active in the country now. The "three generations of punishment" law in place is further evidence that these abuses have no end in sight.

The nation is deprived of basic necessities of life, and human rights violations occur daily. There is no room for the media to be gushing over the side-eye that Kim Yo-Jung gave Pence.

The Olympics are a giant PR stunt for every nation, and in no way can we normalize North Korea and the leaders of their regime.