President Moon Jae-in on Friday expressed his wish that the Beijing Winter Olympics would become an event that promotes peace and harmony for all mankind through sports.

Moon also wished for the strong performance of South Korean national players in a message he posted on social media hours before the opening of the 24th Olympic Winter Games in the Chinese capital.

"In the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, we united and created a realm of peace and harmony for all mankind. We saw a miracle done by sports. I wish the Beijing Winter Olympics would become a feast of peace and harmony through sports," he wrote.

Moon hoped that Korean players would perform strongly in Beijing.

"Team Korea has overcome much hardship and made Koreans proud," he said.

The president also expressed his gratitude to the coaching staff and the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee for taking great care of the national players.

"It is most important that they play with safety and in good health. The nation will strongly cheer for Team Korea," he wrote.

The Beijing Winter Olympics kicked off Friday and runs through Feb. 20.

About 3,000 players from around the world are set to compete in 109 events over 15 disciplines in seven sports. (Yonhap)