FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2018, file photo, Kim Yo Jong, right, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, and Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, center, observe with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, second from left, and first lady Kim Jung-sook during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018.
It’s true that the North is extremely sensitive about COVID-19, knowing that a widespread outbreak in a country with an already battered health system could be disaster. North Korea has previously boycotted Olympics and other international sports events for political reasons or failed to appear when none of its athletes or teams qualified. But this is the first time North Korea has pulled out of a major international sports event citing an infectious disease, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry.
Park said it’s highly unlikely that North Korea will secure enough vaccines for its 26 million people or report major progress in its anti-virus fight by July. North Korea’s decision to skip the Olympics shows that it “thinks contact with foreigners is the most dangerous thing now,” said Seo Yu-Seok at the Seoul-based Institute of North Korean Studies.The North Korean announcement, three months before the Games begin, could signal that Pyongyang is rejecting a repeated push by Seoul to use the Olympics to create a mood for dialogue. It could also show a determination to boost pressure on the new administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.
During those Olympics, athletes from the Koreas marched together under a single unification flag during the opening ceremony and formed the Koreas’ first-ever joint team in women’s ice hockey. Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, became the first member of the North’s ruling family to visit South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Fear the athletes will seek asylum in Japan.
Real question is, why is North Korea even invited to the Olympics?
This is great news for the North Korean Olympic Team. Athletes who lost at the Rio Olympics and their families now work in coal mines, lost their homes and had their food ration cards confiscated.
Having their star athletes get the virus, and then potentially.die with inadequate health-care would be extremely damaging to KJU'S image. Can't risk citizens perceiving any weakness or failure.
You answered all relevant questions with the first line of your tweet. They cancelled because there's a pandemic happening. The Japanese public would like the entire thing cancelled, by a very strong margin.
Actually the smartest decision this country has ever made
Why would the only country in the world without any COVID cases be afraid to go to Tokyo? They, obviously, have herd immunity that is stronger than elephants?
michaeleaves China Virus*
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