IOC "North Korea's suspension ends"... eligible for the Paris Olympics

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially confirmed that North Korea's suspension of qualification has ended.

According to the broadcast, the IOC said, "On December 31, 2022, the North Korean Olympic Committee (NOC) suspension was automatically lifted," and "the North Korean Olympic Committee also received this information."

Previously, the IOC held an executive committee meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on the 7th of last month and announced that "the suspension of Olympic qualifications imposed on North Korea is coming to an end and will be automatically lifted on the 31st."

At the time, North Korea closed the border from January 2020 to prevent the inflow of Corona 19 into the country, and did not send a delegation to the Tokyo Olympics held in July 2021 under the pretext of protecting athletes from Corona 19.

Then, in September 2021, immediately after the Tokyo Summer Olympics, Thomas Bach, the IOC president, unilaterally suspended North Korea's NOC qualifications until the end of 2022, which did not participate in the Tokyo Olympics.

At the time, North Korea was the only one among the 206 NOCs under the IOC that did not send athletes to the Olympics.

North Korea did not receive any financial support from the IOC during the suspension period, and was unable to participate in the Winter Olympics held in Beijing, China early last year.

However, as North Korea's suspension of qualifications ended, the broadcast said that it was possible to participate in the Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China in September this year, as well as the Paris Olympics in July next year.

(Photo = Getty Image Korea)