N. Korean athletes absent from welcome ceremony

Representatives of the North Korean delegation attend their Welcome Ceremony at the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday (local time). / AFP-Yonhap

By Park Jae-hyuk

North Korean athletes participating in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics missed the welcoming ceremony at the athletes’ village, Sunday (local time), leaving only the country’s officials to attend it.

The delegations from North Korea and Uganda entered the athletes’ quarters for the Summer Games Sunday and the village held an arrival ceremony for them.

However, none of the 31 athletes from North Korea attended the occasion. Yun Song-bom, head of the North’s delegation, and 15 other officials were the only North Korean attendees of the ceremony. They arrived in the Brazilian city on July 28, a week ahead of the opening on Aug. 5.

The Pyongyang delegation indifferently looked on performances of Brazilians and they were also expressionless during the North Korean flag raising ceremony after the performances. On the contrary, Ugandan athletes enjoyed the ceremony, dancing with the performers.

“The athletes are still jet-lagged,” a North Korean official is quoted saying. “Their training schedules kept them from coming to the athletes' village ceremony.”

North Korea will compete in nine sports including athletics, swimming, weightlifting and artistic gymnastics.

Yun declined to comment on the country’s medal targets when asked by the media. He instead said, “We didn’t come here without a goal. We will not disappoint our people.”

At the 2012 London Olympics, North Korea won four gold medals ― three from weightlifting and one from judo ― and two bronzes, finishing 20th in the overall ranking.