North Korea’s sports ministry said on Tuesday that it will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics scheduled to start 23 July.
It cited the pandemic and said it wanted to protect its athletes.
The decision was made at a meeting of North Korea’s Olympic committee on March 25.
Sports minister Kim Il Guk attended the meeting, the ministry said on its website called Joson Sports.
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“The committee decided not to join the 32nd Olympics Games to protect athletes from the global health crisis caused by the coronavirus,” it said.
The meeting also discussed ways to develop professional sports technologies.
It discussed how to earn medals at international competitions.
Lastly, the meeting also focussed on how to promote public sports activities over the next five years.
