DPRK Won’t Attend in Tokyo Olympics

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) declined to participate in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to protect athletes’ health from the Covid-19 pandemic, journalistic sources have informed.

According to a website run by the North’s Sports Ministry, the general assembly of the country’s Olympic Committee made the decision during a meeting held on March 25 in Pyongyang.

The members of that organization brought the proposal to the meeting, concerned about the global health crisis.

The DPRK is one of the few countries on the planet that managed to stay free of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and its consequent disease, Covid-19, as it adopted strict epidemiological measures and border controls as soon as the first cases were reported in China.

Japan is immersed in a process of unprecedented adjustments for the summer games in Tokyo, precisely because of the uncertainties derived from the pandemic.

Since late March, the Olympic torch relay has passed through its territory amid a strict epidemiological mechanism to prevent the spread of Covid-19, and authorities require spectators to wear facemasks and not acclaim the torchbearers.