Time.news – North Korea has become the first country to announce that it will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics to prevent athletes from being infected with the coronavirus. The news is a cold shower for South Korea, which saw in the Games, scheduled for next July, an opportunity to reconnect diplomatic ties with the neighboring country, as had happened in 2018 on the occasion of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, which they had seen the participation of Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean President Kim Jong Un.
Pyongyang e virus
The Communist regime of Pyongyang has always denied having had cases of Covid, but experts believe it unlikely. The North Korean health system is considered wholly inadequate to deal with the pandemic.
The previous one from 1988
The decision was anticipated to the Olympic Committee during a meeting on 25 March. It will be the first time that North Korea has missed an Olympics since 1988 when for political reasons it boycotted those organized by Seoul. The Tokyo 2020 Games, postponed last year due to the pandemic, will open on 23 July
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