North Korea to send nearly 100 athletes in 14 sports to Asian Games in Japan

North Korea will send about 100 athletes in 14 sports to the Asian Games in Japan later this year, the secretary-general of the country's Olympic Committee told a Tokyo-based publication.

Relations between North Korea and Japan have often been strained. Pyongyang did not send a delegation to the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, citing the global health crisis at the time.

The North Korean team has participated in previous Asian Games with a much larger squad. For example, at the 2023 competition in Hangzhou, China, 185 athletes represented the country in 18 sports. They won 11 gold, 18 silver and 10 bronze medals.

North Korea's Olympic Committee Secretary General Ko Chol-ho said the team is hoping to win more medals this time, despite a smaller squad than in the previous competition.

Pyongyang has severely restricted athletes' participation in overseas competitions during the pandemic. As a result, North Korea has not participated in the 2022 and 2026 Winter Olympics.

More than 11,000 athletes from 45 countries are expected to participate in the 20th Asian Games, which will be held in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and other cities in Japan from September 19 to October 4.

The South Korean delegation was also mistakenly introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The organizers used the name "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" twice, which caused a sharp protest from Seoul. The International Olympic Committee has apologized to the South Korean delegation and the country's relevant organizations for the error.