North Korea’s delegation and athletes departed Pyongyang on February 5 to participate in the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, according to North Korean state media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), on February 6.
However, the delegation is smaller compared to previous events, which analysts interpret as a reflection of the cooling relations between North Korea and China.
KCNA reported that “a delegation from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Olympic Committee, led by Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Kim Il-guk, left Pyongyang on February 5 to take part in the 9th Asian Winter Games in China.” The report also stated that Kim Yong-gwon, Vice Minister of Physical Culture and Sports, and Wang Yajun, the Chinese Ambassador to North Korea, saw the delegation off at Pyongyang International Airport.
Although North Korea confirmed that its athletes traveled by plane, it did not disclose specific details about the composition or size of its delegation.
According to the event’s organizing committee, North Korea is sending only three athletes to the Harbin Winter Asian Games: figure skating pair Ryom Tae-ok (25) and Han Kum-chol (25), as well as men’s singles skater Ro Yong-myong (24).
This is a significant reduction compared to the 2017 Sapporo Asian Winter Games, where North Korea sent a total of seven athletes—two figure skaters and five short-track speed skaters.
A South Korean Unification Ministry official commented, “It appears that North Korea has chosen to forgo events with lower medal prospects, such as short-track, and instead focus solely on figure skating, where they have a higher chance of winning medals. The fact that North Korea is sending only a minimal delegation to an Asian Games hosted by China also reflects the relatively cooled relations between Pyongyang and Beijing, especially following North Korea’s troop dispatch to Russia for the Ukraine war.”
Ryom Tae-ok, North Korea’s top figure skater, previously won a bronze medal in the pairs event at the 2017 Sapporo Games with then-partner Kim Ju-sik. She is considered a medal contender again this year.
North Korea has not participated in any international winter sports competitions since the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. It withdrew from the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics—held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic—citing virus concerns. This led to a suspension of its National Olympic Committee (NOC) status until the end of 2022, barring North Korean athletes from competing in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Meanwhile, the 9th Asian Winter Games will officially open in Harbin, the capital of China’s Heilongjiang Province, on February 7. A record 1,300 athletes from 34 countries will compete for 64 gold medals, making this the largest edition of the Winter Asian Games to date.
BY YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]
