(ANSA) - SEUL, APRIL 06 - North Korea renounces the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for this summer due to the risk of coronavirus infections, the Pyongyang Sport Minister said today.
In a meeting, the North Korean Olympic Committee "decided not to participate in the 32nd Olympic Games to protect athletes from the global health crisis caused by Covid-19," said the communications department of the North Korean dicastery.
The participation of the Asian country, a nuclear power isolated from the rest of the world, in the last Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in South Korea was a decisive factor in the spectacular diplomatic rapprochement that took place in 2018. KimYo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, participated in the Games as his brother's envoy, and the North Korean participation was widely publicized. South Korean President Moon Jae-in took the opportunity to start a mediation between Pyongyang and Washington that led to historic summits between Kim and US President Donald Trump. Today's announcement by North Korea puts an end to Seoul's hopes of using the 2020 Games, postponed to this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic, to trigger a resumption of the discussion process between Pyongyang and Washington, interrupted by the failure of a Kim-Trump summit in Hanoi in February 2019. The announcement of Pyongyang's resignation, dated yesterday, was published today on the North Korean Ministry of Sports website. It refers to a meeting of the Pyongyang National Olympic Committee on March 25. (HANDLE).
