| THE TOPLINE: North and South Korean athletes will march together under a "unification" flag during the opening ceremony of next month's Winter Olympics, the two sides announced Wednesday. The announcement after three days of talks in the border village of Panmunjom continues an Olympics-inspired thaw after months of escalating tensions over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. In addition to marching together, which the countries have done at previous games, North and South Korea agreed to field a joint women's hockey team, the first joint team from the two Koreas in their history. Read more about the Olympics announcement here. Back in Washington, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who previously said the United States should skip the Olympics if North Korea goes, said Wednesday that South Korea is "undercutting" President Trump with the talks. The Hill's Ellen Mitchell reports: "South Korea, they're a great ally, they're in a bad spot. But I think the signals that they're sending to North Korea are undercutting what Trump's trying to do. Which will make it more likely that we will build up military capability, not less," the Senate Armed Services Committee member told attendees at the American Enterprise Institute. Graham likened North Korea's visit to the Games to the way Adolf Hitler used the 1936 Summer Olympics in Nazi Germany to further his agenda by using "the largest stage in the world." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might believe his missile and nuclear weapons tests are not as unacceptable as international criticism has suggested, Graham argued. Read more from Graham here. Meanwhile, two Democratic senators who traveled to the peninsula recently said that the talks are a good sign, but that nobody has any illusions North Korea is continuing to advance its nuclear weapons program. "It is a positive sign that the North Koreans are participating in the Olympics, but also very clearly from our military leaders ... they're not refraining from continuing to move forward with their efforts to solve the final problems with being able to nuclearize an intercontinental ballistic missile that can hit the American homeland," Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said. "So while they're doing this, they're still continuing to pursue their nuclear development, and that was not something that anybody that we talked to had any illusions about, whether it was civilian or military," she added. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) similarly called it "a good thing that they're talking and that there is an effort by the South Koreans and North Koreans to work together at the Olympics." "Whether it changes anything, we can't tell right now. But without a doubt they're going to continue to be, not doing overt testing such as ballistic missiles or nuclear testing, while this is going on, but they're going to be doing anything they can to perfect their [intercontinental ballistic missiles] in the meantime," Gallego said. Read more from the pair here. TRUMP ACCUSES RUSSIA OF HELPING N. KOREA EVADE SANCTIONS: President Trump on Wednesday called out Russia for helping North Korea evade sanctions during an interview with Reuters. Trump, who has been accused by critics in the past of taking a friendly tone toward Russia and its President Vladimir Putin, sharply rebuked Moscow for filling the gaps created by China's decision to restrict oil and coal supplies to North Korea. "Russia is not helping us at all with North Korea," Trump told Reuters. "What China is helping us with, Russia is denting. In other words, Russia is making up for some of what China is doing." Experts and U.S. officials have previously said Russia is helping North Korea get around sanctions, but Trump himself had said little about the accusation even as he previously bashed China for allegedly doing the same. Read more from the Reuters interview here. TILLERSON OUTLINES LONGTERM SYRIA PLANS: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson outlined a U.S. strategy for Syria that includes an indefinite stay by U.S. troops. The Hill's Max Greenwood reports: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday outlined a new U.S. strategy in Syria, hinging on maintaining an indefinite military presence in the country with the goal of ousting the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and keeping militant groups at bay. Speaking at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, Tillerson sought to make the case for an extended U.S. military role, backed by a United Nations-brokered political solution, in the war-torn country. A U.S. withdrawal, he said, would likely have disastrous consequences. "Total withdrawal would restore Assad and continue brutal treatment of his own people," Tillerson said. Read the rest here. TOP DEM SEES 'PATH FORWARD' ON IRAN BILL: The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday said he believes there is a "path forward" on Iran legislation, despite President Trump making negotiations "more difficult" by issuing an ultimatum. "The bad news is that the way [Trump] presented it, the conditions, the ultimatum makes it much more difficult," Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) told reporters Wednesday. "I think there's a path forward, but we've got to understand the last conversations between the administration and Europe first." On Friday, Trump announced he would once again renew waivers on sanctions that were lifted as part of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). But Trump pledged it would be the last time the waivers were renewed, unless European allies agree to a follow-on deal and Congress passes legislation to fill holes he sees with the nuclear accord. Read more here. ON TAP FOR TOMORROW: House Speaker Paul Ryan will speak about military readiness at 8:45 a.m. at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. http://bit.ly/2CVXlQn Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson will testify before the House Armed Services Committee on surface warfare at 3:30 p.m. at the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2118. http://bit.ly/2D7ETqY ICYMI: -- The Hill: Cruz: 'It's time for North Korea to fear what America will do next' -- The Hill: House panel to hold hearing on false Hawaii missile alert -- The Hill: Pentagon mulls nuclear response to cyberattacks: report -- The Hill: Commanders at time of fatal ship collisions charged with homicide -- The Hill: Opinion: 2018 will be a year of consequences -- The Hill: Opinion: Give Trump new nukes and we are that much closer to war -- Washington Post: Navy courts-martial are possible for fatal ship collisions; history shows results are mixed -- Defense News: Graham to GOP: Give on immigration to get military spending boost | 
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