North Korea at the Olympics

North Korea's first Olympic appearance was in the 1964 Winter Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria. The nation participated in its first Summer Olympic Games eight years later at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Since then, the nation has appeared in every Summer Games, except when North Korea joined the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics, when they boycotted the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea, and in 2020, citing COVID-19 concerns.{{Cite news | title = Why the Olympics matter when it comes to North Korea | last = Taylor | first = Adam | newspaper = The Washington Post | date = 3 January 2018 | access-date = 7 January 2018 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/01/03/why-the-olympics-matter-when-it-comes-to-north-korea/}}

North Korea's attendance at the Winter Games has been sporadic; eight of the last thirteen Games have included a North Korean team.

During the 1998-2007 Sunshine Policy era, North Korea and South Korea symbolically marched as one team at the opening ceremonies of the 2000,{{Sfn|North Korea Handbook|2002|p=488}} 2004, and 2006 Olympics, but competed separately.

North Korea sent 22 athletes to compete in five sports at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. As in 2000 and 2004, North and South Korean athletes marched together at the opening ceremonies. A unified women's ice hockey team included players from both North and South Korea. North Korean athletes also competed in alpine skiing, figure skating, short track speed skating and cross-country skiing.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/winter-olympics/42759924| title=Winter Olympics 2018: North Korea will send 22 athletes to Pyeongchang| date=January 20, 2018| access-date=February 10, 2018| work=BBC News}}

Alongside the 22 athletes, North Korea sent a delegation of 400 supporters to the 2018 games. This delegation, led by North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam, included cheerleaders, taekwondo practitioners and an orchestra.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42770887| title=North Korea at the Winter Olympics: All you need to know| date=February 8, 2018| access-date=February 10, 2018| work=BBC News}}

North Korean athletes have won a total of 63 medals, two of which were won at the Winter Games. Government funding plays a major role in Korea's success. Elite athletes often enjoy highly developed facilities and luxurious lifestyles, compared with their peers.

In 2018, the United Nations, due to conflicts, rejected an exemption to sanctions for sporting equipment to help athletes prepare for the 2020 Summer Olympics being sent to North Korea.{{cite web|url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1068566/ioc-disappointed-after-un-reject-demand-for-sporting-equipment-to-be-sent-to-north-korea |title=IOC disappointed after UN reject demand for sporting equipment to be sent to North Korea |website=insidethegames.biz |accessdate=2021-10-18 |first1=Nick |last1=Butler |date=2018-08-09}}

On 6 April 2021, North Korea announced it would not participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics due to COVID-19 concerns.{{cite news|last=Choe|first=Sang-hun|date=6 April 2021|title=North Korea, citing the pandemic, will skip the Tokyo Olympics.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/world/asia/covid-north-korea-olympics.html|access-date=5 April 2021|work=The New York Times}} Because the Olympic Charter mandates members' participation, the International Olympic Committee suspended North Korea from its activities until the end of 2022, thus prohibiting the country from participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.{{cite news|title=North Korea suspended from IOC after Tokyo no-show|url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/north-korea-suspended-ioc-bach-2021-09-08/|access-date=8 September 2021|work=Reuters|agency=Reuters|date=8 September 2021|language=en}}

{{See also|All-time Olympic Games medal table}}

{{Medals table

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| gold_3 = 2 | silver_3 = 3 | bronze_3 = 3 | name_3 = {{GamesSport|Boxing|Format=d}}

| gold_4 = 2 | silver_4 = 2 | bronze_4 = 4 | name_4 = {{GamesSport|Judo|Format=d}}

| gold_5 = 3 | silver_5 = 0 | bronze_5 = 0 | name_5 = {{GamesSport|Gymnastics|Format=d}}

| gold_6 = 1 | silver_6 = 0 | bronze_6 = 2 | name_6 = {{GamesSport|Shooting|Format=d}}

| gold_7 = 0 | silver_7 = 2 | bronze_7 = 3 | name_7 = {{GamesSport|Table tennis|Format=d}}

| gold_8 = 0 | silver_8 = 1 | bronze_8 = 1 | name_8 = {{GamesSport|Diving|Format=d}}

| gold_9 = 0 | silver_9 = 0 | bronze_9 = 1 | name_9 = {{GamesSport|Volleyball|Format=d}}

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{{Medals table

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| team = Sport

| hide_rank = yes

| leading =

| gold_1 = 0 | silver_1 = 1 | bronze_1 = 0 | name_1 = {{GamesSport|Speed skating|Format=d}}

| gold_2 = 0 | silver_2 = 0 | bronze_2 = 1 | name_2 = {{GamesSport|Short track speed skating|Format=d}}

}}

{{Portal|North Korea|Olympics}}

• List of flag bearers for North Korea at the Olympics
• North Korea at the Paralympics
• Sport in North Korea
• :Category:Olympic competitors for North Korea

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |ref = CITEREFNorth_Korea_Handbook2002 |author = Yonhap News Agency |title = North Korea Handbook |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JIlh9nNeadMC&pg=PA487 |date = 2002 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |location = Seoul |isbn = 978-0-7656-3523-5 }}

• {{cite web |title=Democratic People's Republic of Korea |date=9 September 2021 |publisher=International Olympic Committee |url=https://www.olympic.org/democratic-people-s-republic-of-korea }}
• {{cite web |title=North Korea |publisher=Olympedia.com |url=http://www.olympedia.org/countries/PRK }}
• {{cite web |title=Olympic Analytics/PRK |publisher=olympanalyt.com |url=http://olympanalyt.com/OlympAnalytics.php?param_pagetype=MedalsByGames¶m_country=PRK |access-date=2020-08-11 |archive-date=2018-01-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108063210/http://olympanalyt.com/OlympAnalytics.php?param_pagetype=MedalsByGames¶m_country=PRK |url-status=dead }}
• {{Cite news | title = The Olympics are tough for all athletes. For North Koreans, they're worse. | last = Taylor | first = Adam | newspaper = The Washington Post | date = 10 August 2016 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/08/10/the-olympics-are-tough-for-all-athletes-for-north-koreans-theyre-worse/ |ref=none}}

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