BEIJING: North Korea has 191 athletes signed up for the Asian Games starting next week, according to organisers, suggesting the country is poised to end its more than three-year isolation from the global sporting arena.
North Koreans are listed on the Games’ website for accredited media to compete in the Chinese city of Hangzhou in sports including athletics, gymnastics, basketball, football, boxing and weightlifting.
North Koreans were similarly down to compete at a weightlifting tournament in Cuba in June, but they failed to show.
North Korea closed its already tight borders in early 2020 following the outbreak of the pandemic and skipped the Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed back to 2021 because of COVID-19.
It was then banned by the International Olympic Committee from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics for failing to take part in Tokyo.
There have been recent signs that the border restrictions have been eased slightly, with a taekwondo team allowed to travel to a competition last month in Kazakhstan.
Prior to that, North Korea had not sent any of its domestic athletes to overseas competitions since the pandemic.
Source: CNA
