Ivanka Trump played America’s cheerleader at the Winter Olympics on Friday, when she flashed a heart sign for Team USA during the snowboarding.
But Ivanka ensured she kept on message when it came to politics and during an earlier dinner with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, she pledged maintain her father’s ‘maximum-pressure campaign’ to push for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
On Friday, the First Daughter was pictured, in a Team USA hat and red snowsuit, cheering and smiling as she watched snowboarders vying for medals at the men’s Big Air competition at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Ivanka, who will lead the U.S. delegation at the closing ceremony Sunday, chatted with South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-suk while watching from a box. Also sitting next to her is International Olympic Committee member and 1998 gold medalist Angela Ruggiero.
Ivanka Trump flashes a heart for Team USA at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, on 24 February
The First Daughter was pictured, in a Team USA hat and red snowsuit, cheering and smiling as she watched snowboarders vying for medals at the men’s Big Air competition at the Pyeongchang Olympics, next to Kim Jung-sook, wife of South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in
Ivanka Trump, left, watches with Kim Jung-sook, wife of the South Korean President and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, right, during the men’s Big Air snowboard competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics
The first daughter’s arrival in the country is a deliberate riposte to North Korea after Kim Jong-un sent his sister Kim Yo-jong to the opening ceremony of the Winter Games, along with an army of 100 cheerleaders, completely upstaging Vice President Mike Pence in the process.
Interestingly, Yo-jong was referred to by many as ‘the Ivanka of North Korea’ – as both wield a powerful influence over the respective leaders of their countries.
Later on Friday, Ivanka met President Moon Jae-in for dinner where the Korean leader joked that whenever he spoke to Donald Trump on the phone, he’d ask about ticket sales for the Olympics.
Moon also highlighted the importance of easing tensions between the North and South, and credited: ‘President Trump’s strong support for inter-Korean dialogue.’
‘North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympic Games has served as an opportunity for us to engage in active discussions between the two Koreas, and this has led to lowering of tensions on the peninsula,’ he said.
Ivanka responded saying she was in South Korea to ‘reaffirm our bonds of friendship and partnership’ but also ‘to reaffirm our commitment to our maximum-pressure campaign to ensure that the Korean Peninsula is denuclearized,’ according to a media pool report.
Ivanka Trump, daughter of U.S. President Donald Trump, watches the men’s Big Air snowboard competition
Ivanka jumped to her feet as she watched the final of the men’s snowboard big air event at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre. to her right was wife of Korean President Moon Jae-in, Kim Jung-sook, to her left was US IOC member Angela Ruggiero, and sat one seat further down was White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders
President Donald Trump’s daughter and senior White House adviser, Ivanka Trump reacts as Kim Jung-sook, wife of South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in, cheers in the stands
Ivanka Trump (R), reached out to get the attention of White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during one tense moment in the Games
Ivanka Trump (L) and Kim Jung-sook (R) posed for a selfie while watching the final of the men’s snowboard big air event at the Games
During the dinner reception, Ivanka mirrored Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook’s outfit by donning all black. She posed next to the presidential couple in a knee-length dress with three-quarter sleeves and a plunging neckline.
Kim, meanwhile, donned a similar dress with long sleeves, which she paired with purple pumps.
The menu was prepared to meet kosher standards in line with Ivanka’s Orthodox Jewish faith.
The appetizers were lotus root and pear salad and jujube – a local red date – porridge.
Ivanka’s entree was grilled soft tofu with special marinade, while the rest of the table had charcoal grilled ribs.
Bother were served with bibimbap and bean sprout soup, while for dessert there was a trio of flavors of strawberry, followed by citrus tea which was served with dried persimmon and deep fried walnut.
White House officials said Ivanka would be cheering on Team USA and bolstering the US’s alliance with South Korea.
Donald Trump had tweeted early Friday, praising his daughter, saying: ‘We cannot have a better, or smarter, person representing our country.’
Ivanka Trump met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday night at the presidential office in Seoul, ahead of a weekend that will be spent cheering on Team USA at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang
The first daughter made a stunning appearance in Seoul, where she attended a dinner with Moon, weeks after Kim Jong-un sent his glamorous sister Kim Yo-jong to the opening ceremony, upstaging Vice President Mike Pence in the process
She does not intend to meet with a North Korean delegation that will attend the ceremony. But Ivanka, 36, could meet one of Kim’s henchmen on Sunday. She will watch the closing ceremony on Sunday alongside Kim Yong-chol, head of North Korea’s national intelligence bureau.
As she arrived her father, President Donald Trump, tweeted his support of her trip, and praising her as the ‘best, smartest person to represent our country’.
Moon said he would raise the issue of direct talks between the US and North Korea during his dinner with Ivanka, though officials said it is unlikely that she will meet with the North’s delegation this weekend.
During the dinner reception, Ivanka mirrored Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook’s outfit by donning all black. She posed next to the presidential couple in a knee-length dress with three-quarter sleeves and a plunging neckline.
Kim, meanwhile, donned a similar dress with long sleeves, which she paired with purple pumps.
The menu was prepared to meet kosher standards in line with Ivanka’s Orthodox Jewish faith.
Ivanka appeared relaxed and happy as she sat down alongside Moon, flanked by the US delegation she is leading to the closing ceremony
Moon said before the dinner that he planned to raise the issue of talks between North Korea and the United States with Ivanka
The South Korean president spoke at some length with Ivanka during the dinner
The first daughter will now spend Saturday watching Team USA compete in the final stages of the Games, and will then attend the closing ceremony, where she will meet Kim Yong-chol, head of North Korea’s national intelligence bureau
The appetizers were lotus root and pear salad and jujube – a local red date – porridge.
Ivanka’s entree was grilled soft tofu with special marinade, while the rest of the table had charcoal grilled ribs.
Menu: This was the Korean offering
Bother were served with bibimbap and bean sprout soup, while for dessert there was a trio of flavors of strawberry, followed by citrus tea which was served with dried persimmon and deep fried walnut.
In a symbol of American-South Korean relations red wine was from the Napa Valley, while white was from Chungbuk province in South Korea.
On Saturday Ivanka is due to cheer on Team USA on the final day of the competition before leading the US delegation at the closing ceremony on Sunday.
However her presence in the country may in fact highlight the growing tension between many of Team USA’s athletes and her father President Trump. Ivanka has no official meetings scheduled with any of the country’s competitors while she is in South Korea, with many of them already publicly stating that they want nothing to do with her father’s White House.
Figure skater Adam Rippon has previously refused to meet with Vice President Pence, and told DailyMail.com exclusively earlier this month he would not attend Trump’s White House party for Team USA.
‘I have no desire to go to the White House. But I would like to do something to help my community,’ Rippon, who has criticized the administration’s attitude towards LGBT people, added at the time.
Ivanka sat next to the South Korean president during the dinner that followed her arrival on Friday
The first daughter was shown to her seat by the South Korean president during their gathering at the Presidential Blue House
She seemed in high spirits during the dinner, which saw her chat animatedly with the presidential couple
Ivanka looked pensive as Moon made a point over the course of the evening
The first daughter also sat close to South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook during the official dinner
The arrival of Ivanka in South Korea has inevitably drawn comparisons to Yo Jong’s appearance, which captivated the South Korean media.
Ivanka told reporters as she arrived at Incheon airport that she is ‘very, very excited to attend the 2018 Winter Olympic Games [and] cheer for team USA.’
Chol will arrive in the country on Sunday and is due to stay for three days afterward, during which he will hold talks with Moon.
Moon hopes to make the Olympics an avenue for peace on the divided Korean Peninsula.
But while the games appear to have paved a way for possible rapprochement between the Koreas, U.S. and North Korean officials have yet to make direct contact.
After meeting with President Moon (left) Ivanka was led inside by Kim who motioned for her to remove her shoes before entering (right)
Ivanka will stay in South Korea for four days while cheering on Team USA at the Winter Olympics before attending the closing ceremony
The first daughter and Moon also posed for photos with the South Korean first lady outside the Presidential Blue House
Ivanka arrived in South Korea for a four-day stay to lead a U.S. delegation to the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics
President Trump tweeted shortly after Ivanka touched down in Incheon, throwing his full support behind his daughter
Moon met Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and Kim Yong Nam, North Korea’s nominal head of state, a day after the opening ceremony and urged North Korea to do more to engage in a dialogue with the United States.
Relations between the North and the United States hit an all-time low during 2017 after Kim tested a record number of ballistic missiles including one which can likely range the whole of the United States.
Donald Trump repeatedly engaged in a fiery war of words with Kim, at one point bragging that his nuclear button was ‘bigger’ than the dictator’s.
He also threatened to unleash ‘fire and fury like the world has never seen’ in the event that Kim attacked the US or its allies, and told the UN he would ‘totally destroy’ North Korea if war broke out in the region.
In return, Kim branded Trump a ‘mentally deranged US dotard’ and vowed to continue testing missiles before declaring the North’s nuclear program complete.
In the middle of the two warring leaders, Moon attempted to play peace-maker, often suggesting that America would need his permission before starting a war – a claim the US flatly denied.
North Korea has used the Olympics as an opportunity to stage a charm offensive, flying in a squad of cheerleaders and allowing its ice skaters to compete under a unified Korean flag with their counterparts from the South.
Ivanka arrived in South Korea on Friday evening leading the US delegation that will attend the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics
The first daughter opted for a white and black hounds tooth coat, a white roll-neck jumper, matching skirt and heavy back boots as she climbed off the plane
Ivanka is scheduled to attend the games on Saturday and then watch the closing ceremony on Sunday
The adviser is leading a delegation that includes White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders (pictured left)
While Ivanka traveled to South Korea, her husband Jared Kushner remained at home in D.C. where he was pictured on his way to the office on Friday morning
All the while Kim has been keen to dangle the prize of Korean reunification in the air, suggesting that peace could be possible without American interference.
However, analysts have warned that the North is unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons in return for peace on the peninsula, and is playing world leaders along.
As a reminder of the kind of regime Kim runs, Pence attended the opening ceremony alongside a delegation of North Korean defectors.
Each brought with them their own story of brutal repression under Kim’s rule, and were joined by Fred Warmbier, the father of student Otto who died after being sentenced to prison with hard labor for stealing a propaganda poster.
Warmbier was on a trip to the North when he was caught on CCTV taking the poster for a dare, and was subsequently sentenced to 15 years in jail.
However, he served just 17 months of that sentence before being handed back to US authorities in a coma, dying just days later.
While Pence’s stunt did draw some media attention, it was largely overshadowed by Kim Yo Jong’s attendance which marked the first time a member of the Kim dynasty has come South since the Korean War.
Ivanka was spotted leaving her house in Washington, D.C. and heading to the airport on Thursday, in a wrap coat featuring a navy and white dotted pattern
Ivanka’s presence at the closing ceremony comes after Kim Jong Un sent his glamorous sister, Kim Yo Jong, to the opening of the games where she sat close to Mike Pence
Kim’s presence at the opening ceremony, the first time a member of the Kim dynasty has come to the South since the Korean War, largely upstaged the Vice President
Pence had brought a delegation of North Korean defectors and Fred Warmbier, father of Otto who died after being imprisoned by North Korea, to the games – but failed to shift the limelight from Kim
North Korea will also send a delegation to the closing ceremony led by General Kim Yong Chol, though official say it is ‘unlikely’ he will meet Ivanka
Ivanka was spotted leaving her house in Washington, D.C. and heading to the airport on Thursday, in a wrap coat featuring a navy and white dotted pattern.
The first daughter was scheduled to fly to commercially to Seoul for her dinner with the South Korean president before traveling to PyeongChang.
She wore her spring coat over a a dress and topped off the look with a pair of navy blue suede heels featuring ankle straps.
Although she opted for one of her standard ladylike outfits, Ivanka changed up her hair, which is usually blown out straight or in loose curls.
For her trip to the airport, her locks were styled in voluminous waves that were a far cry from the more classic hairstyles she has worn in the past.
Ivanka was first photographed leaving the front door of her home carrying a white handbag from her eponymous clothing line.
After she realized her Secret Service SUV wasn’t parked out front, she walked downstairs and headed back inside her home, using the gated door located under the front steps.
While Ivanka making final preparations before her flight, a housekeeper was seen carrying a purple suitcase and a white garment bag to the Secret Service SUV that was parked outside of her home.
When she returned outside using the gated door around 10:30 a.m., Ivanka flashed a bright smile and gave a wave to the photographers waiting outside for her.