North Korea has 191 athletes signed up for the Asian Games starting next week, according to the organizers, suggesting the nation is poised to end its more than three-year isolation from the global sporting arena.
North Koreans are listed on the Games’ Web site for accredited media to compete in Hangzhou, China, in sports including athletics, gymnastics, basketball, soccer, boxing and weightlifting.
North Koreans were similarly down to compete at a weightlifting tournament in Cuba in June, but they failed to show up.
North Korea closed its already tight borders in early 2020 following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and skipped the Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed back to 2021.
The nation was then banned by the International Olympic Committee from last year’s Beijing Winter Olympics for failing to take part in Tokyo.
There have been signs that the border restrictions have been eased slightly, with a taekwondo team allowed to travel to a competition in Kazakhstan last month.
Prior to that, North Korea had not sent any of its athletes to overseas competitions since the pandemic began.
The sporting action at the Asian Games in Hangzhou starts on Tuesday next week, four days before the opening ceremony, with North Korea scheduled to face Taiwan in men’s soccer tournament that day.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is said to be an avid sports fan and Games hosts China are North Korea’s longtime ally and main economic benefactor.
North Korea has traditionally been especially strong in weightlifting, dominating the event at the Jakarta Asian Games in 2018 with eight golds.
Ri Song-gum and Rim Un-sim, who both won gold in the women’s weightlifting five years ago, are scheduled to appear in Hangzhou, but North Korea has also been among the nations punished for doping in the sport, including what the International Weightlifting Federation called “multiple positive cases” in qualification for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
The Asian Games are to feature about 12,200 competitors — more than the Olympic Games — and end on Oct. 8.
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