North Korea does not participate in the Tokyo Olympics, what events will it affect?

  [Global Times Special Correspondent in North Korea Mang Jiuchen Global Times Special Correspondent Jin Hye Jin Zhuang Yu] According to a report on the 6th by the Korean Sports website under the Ministry of Sports of North Korea, North Korea decided not to participate in the Tokyo Olympics due to the still severe situation in the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic.

The International Paralympic Committee revealed on the 6th that the North Korean Paralympic Committee had also informed that it would not participate in the Tokyo Paralympic Games, which opened on August 24.

Japan’s Kyodo News Agency stated that this is the first time that a country has publicly announced that it will not participate in this year’s Tokyo Olympics. The background is the sluggish relations between Japan and North Korea.

At the same time, “the South Korean government's efforts to break the deadlock between South Korea and North Korea through the Olympic Dongfeng are also facing a crisis of collapse.” Yonhap News Agency said that if the dialogue between South Korea and North Korea continues to be difficult, the two sides plan to jointly host the Summer Olympics in Seoul and Pyongyang in 2032. It may also lose motivation.

  North Korea was absent from the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. Since then, it has sent delegations to participate. It has won more than 2 gold medals in almost every Summer Olympics (except for the Sydney and Athens Olympics), and even 4 gold medals in the Barcelona and London Olympics. .

Yonhap News Agency said on the 6th that during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Kim Yo-jung, deputy minister of the Ministry of Propaganda of the Workers’ Party of Korea, visited South Korea in person, adding a lot of highlights to the Winter Olympics.

The Tokyo Olympics originally expected North Korea to participate in a similar effect, but now it seems that such aspirations have "flooded."

An official from the Ministry of Unification of South Korea also expressed regret on the 6th: “I originally expected the Tokyo Olympics to be an opportunity to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and enhance the understanding and cooperation between the two countries. However, it is regrettable that the other party did not participate because of the epidemic. We will continue to work hard. Seeking to find opportunities to promote peace on the peninsula and dialogue between South Korea and North Korea in various fields such as sports."

  A spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee stated in a statement on the 6th that he had not received an official notification from the North Korean Olympic Committee of “not participating in the Tokyo Olympics”.

The International Olympic Committee allowed South Korea and North Korea to join hands in the Tokyo Olympics in March 2019, and formed a South Korean and North Korean team in four events (women's hockey, women's basketball, rowing, and judo).

South Korea tried to discuss related matters with North Korea twice in June and July 2019, but received no response.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in once again stated at the beginning of 2020 that he would continue to promote the above-mentioned matters, and also mentioned in the 2021 main government work plan that "the Tokyo Olympics will be used as an opportunity to expand cooperation between South Korea and North Korea."

  Weightlifting and shooting are North Korea's dominant projects. South Korea’s "Joongang Ilbo" stated on the 6th that as of that day, North Korean athletes had won 18 Olympic participation rights in eight events including shooting, archery, track and field, table tennis, diving, gymnastics, wrestling, and boxing; in the field of weightlifting in traditionally advantageous events , North Korea’s male and female players have almost 6 participation rights in their pockets. The second round of the 2022 Qatar World Cup Asian Qualifiers will be held in South Korea in June this year. Whether North Korea can come to participate at that time has also become the focus of the AFC and the Korean Football Association.