N. Korean team attends welcome ceremony for Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games
Summary
North Korean athletes attended an official welcome ceremony for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, on Friday. Pak Chon-jong, North Korea’s vice minister of physical culture and sports, attended as chef de mission, while Ko Chol-ho also was present. The delegation said it aimed to put on good performances and achieve better results. The ceremony was delayed by more than an hour and was the eighth of nine official athlete welcome ceremonies.
Key Facts
- The welcome ceremony took place at the Port of Nagoya Garden Pier in Nagoya at 3 p.m. after a delay of more than an hour.
- Pak Chon-jong was identified as the head of the North Korean delegation at the ceremony, replacing earlier media reports that named Sports Minister Kim Il-guk as chef de mission.
- Kim Il-guk had arrived in Japan the previous day and was to serve as head of the North Korean Olympic Committee.
- Recent media reports said North Korea sent a 188-member delegation, including 107 athletes competing in 14 sports.
- Organizers said they did not build a dedicated athletes’ village and instead will use a cruise ship, temporary container units and hotels for about 15,000 athletes and officials from 45 nations.
A North Korean flag is raised during a welcome ceremony at a plaza near the athletes’ village at Nagoya, Japan, Friday, a day before the opening of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Yonhap
NAGOYA — North Korean athletes attended an official welcome ceremony for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday, vowing to put on good performances and achieve better results at the quadrennial continental multisport event.
The welcome ceremony for the North Korean delegation took place at the Port of Nagoya Garden Pier in Nagoya, Japan, at 3 p.m., after a delay of more than an hour.
Pak Chon-jong, North Korea's vice minister of physical culture and sports, attended the event as chef de mission, while Ko Chol-ho, secretary-general of the Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, was also in attendance.
Sports Minister Kim Il-guk had earlier been reported by media as the chef de mission, but Pak was identified as the head of the delegation at Friday's ceremony.
Kim, who arrived in Japan the previous day, will serve as head of the North Korean Olympic Committee.
Pak, a former basketball star in North Korea, did not speak to reporters before or after the ceremony.
The welcome ceremony was the eighth of the Asian Games' nine official athlete welcome ceremonies, with delegations from Palestine, Chinese Taipei, East Timor, Yemen and India also attending the event.
Recent media reports said North Korea sent a 188-member delegation, including 107 athletes competing in 14 sports, to Japan, with the country aiming to win gold medals in weightlifting, wrestling and boxing.
Organizers of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games did not build a dedicated athletes' village to cut costs. Instead, they are providing accommodations on a cruise ship and in temporary container units, as well as hotels, for about 15,000 athletes and officials from 45 nations.
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