01:35
North Korea suspended from Beijing Winter Olympics after Tokyo Games no-show
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3162607/beijing-winter-olympics-china-fully-understands-why-north Diplomacy
Beijing Winter Olympics: China ‘fully understands’ why North Korea will stay away
- Beijing aware of ‘special reasons’ behind neighbour’s absence, foreign ministry spokesman says
- North Korea, officially barred from the Games by the IOC, accuses the US and its allies of trying to sabotage the event
Workers deliver equipment to the Olympic Village in Beijing. Photo: AP
China said it “fully understands” North Korea’s decision to miss next month’s Beijing Winter Olympics, after Pyongyang blamed its inability to attend on the Covid-19 pandemic and “hostile forces” led by the US intent on preventing the “successful opening” of the Games.
North Korea was already barred from the Beijing Games, as the International Olympic Committee in September suspended the country until the end of 2022 for failing to send a team to the Tokyo Olympics, citing the pandemic.
On Friday, North Korea’s state news agency said its Olympic committee and sports ministry sent a letter to their counterparts in China to formally notify them of their absence from the Games opening on February 4.
“We could not take part in the Olympics due to the hostile forces’ moves and the worldwide pandemic,” the letter said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
The IOC has indicated that it remains open to individual North Korean athletes competing in Beijing.
Pyongyang also promised to work with China towards the success of the Beijing Games, while criticising “the US and its vassal forces” for their “moves against China aimed at preventing the successful opening of the Olympics”, an apparent reference to the US-led diplomatic boycott of the event in protest against China’s human rights record.
Chinese President Xi Jinping with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June 2019. Photo: KCNA/dpa
The Chinese foreign ministry said North Korea and China were close neighbours with “traditionally friendly ties” and Beijing would continue to work with Pyongyang.
“The Chinese side fully understands the special reasons that have prevented the North Korean side from taking part in the Games,” ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in Beijing.
“The Chinese side is willing to continue strengthening cooperation with the North Korean side in various fields, including sport.”
The 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea gave the North with an opportunity to improve ties, with its leader Kim Jong-un sending his younger sister and close aide, Kim Yo-jong, to Pyeongchang as part of a high-ranking delegation.