North Korea set to compete at Asian Games after sporting isolation since Covid-19 emerged
- Signs that the hermit state may be re-emerging on the sporting front, and its football team are supposed to begin their Hangzhou campaign next Tuesday
- The country has traditionally been strong in weightlifting, dominating at the last Asian Games in 2018, but failed to show at a tournament in Cuba in June
North Korea has 191 athletes signed up for the Asian Games starting next week, according to organisers, suggesting the country is poised to end its more than three-year isolation from the global sporting arena.
North Koreans are listed on the Games’ website for accredited media to compete in the Chinese city of Hangzhou in sports including athletics, gymnastics, basketball, football, boxing and weightlifting.
North Koreans were similarly down to compete at a weightlifting tournament in Cuba in June, but they failed to show.
The country closed its already tight borders in early 2020 following the outbreak of the pandemic and skipped the Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed back to 2021 because of Covid-19.
It was then banned by the International Olympic Committee from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics for failing to take part in Tokyo.
There have been recent signs that the border restrictions have been eased slightly, with a taekwondo team allowed to travel to a competition last month in Kazakhstan.