Ending pandemic-led yearslong isolation, North Korea made its first international outing in a major multisport event in five years at the 19th Asian Games that kicked off Saturday in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.
Spearheaded by two flag bearers, boxer Pang Chol-mi and shooter Pak Myong-won, the North Korean delegation entered the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, the main venue for this year’s quadrennial continental sport event, seventh after Cambodia during the opening ceremony.
When the name of North Korea was announced in Chinese and English as the seventh nation entering the stadium, a loud cheer arose from the audience.
North Koreans, wearing white jackets and blue trousers or skirts, waved their hands and small national flags to celebrate the end of their five-year hiatus.
Pyongyang has sent 185 athletes in 17 sports to Hanghzou, the reclusive country’s first appearance at an international multisport competition since the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, where it finished 10th with 12 golds, 12 silvers and 13 bronzes.
North Korea skipped the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, citing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, and was subsequently banned by the International Olympic Committee from competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The ban was lifted at the end of 2022, and North Korea became eligible for the 19th edition of the Asian Games, which was delayed for one year due to the pandemic.
But another international restriction on North Korea is still in effect. Flying the North Korean flag at the Asian Games is banned due to sanctions imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2021. The North was declared noncompliant with the World Anti-Doping Code for failing to implement an effective testing program.
Despite the WADA sanctions, North Korean flags were flown at the main stadium along with those of other participating countries, as well as at the athletes’ village and other competition venues.
Moreover, the recent political situation on the Korean Peninsula, caused by North Korea’s series of rocket and missile launches, apparently continued at the sporting scene.
North Koreans did not join hands with their South Korean counterparts for an eye-catching joint march at Hangzhou, as they had done in some international sporting events since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
At Asian Games, such occasions were held at 2002, 2006 and 2018 editions. Athletes from the two neighboring countries even assembled several joint teams at the previous event in Indonesia.
The two Koreas will be competing as separate entities this year, with multiple all-Korean showdowns on the horizon for the next 2 1/2 weeks.
The Hangzhou Asiad, the third Asian Games hosted by China after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010, set sail for its 16-day run until Oct. 8, featuring 11,970 athletes from 45 nations, with 481 gold medals in 40 sports up for grabs.
Source: Yonhap News Agency