North Korea set to end years-long sporting isolation at Asian Games

BEIJING: According to organizers, North Korea has 191 sports registered for the Asian Games, which begin next week, indicating that the nation is prepared to break its more than three-year hiatus from the international having community.

For accredited media to engage in sports like athletics, gymnastics, baseball, basketball, boxing, and exercise in the Chinese capital of Hangzhou, North Koreans are listed on the Games’ website.

Similar to North Koreans, they were unable to compete at a lifting competition in Cuba in June.

Following the start of the pandemic, North Korea closed its now constrained territories in early 2020 and skipped the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19.

The International Olympic Committee finally forbade it from competing in Tokyo at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

A kickboxing team was permitted to attend a competition in Kazakhstan last month, which is one indication that the border restrictions have recently been somewhat relaxed.

Since the crisis, North Korea had not sent any of its regional players to international events.