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North Korea announced on Friday that it will not participate in next month’s Beijing Winter Olympics because of Covid-19 and moves by “hostile forces.” The country’s ambassador delivered a letter to China, its sports ministry and the Chinese Olympic Committee that though they “could not take part in the Olympics due to the hostile forces’ moves and the worldwide pandemic,” it “would fully support the Chinese comrades in all their work to hold a splendid and wonderful Olympic festival.”
The letter also mentioned “the U.S. and its vassal forces are getting evermore undisguised in their moves against China aimed at preventing the successful opening of the Olympics.” According to the letter the decision to boycott the games by the US and some other countries is “an insult to the spirit of the international Olympic Charter and as a base act of attempting to disgrace the international image of China.” The Beijing Olympics is being diplomatically boycotted by the US, Australia, the UK, Canada and a few other countries for China’s alleged atrocities on Uyghur minorities in its Xinjiang region.
The mention of “hostile forces” is absurd because North Korea has already been barred by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) from the Beijing Olympics in September. The country was suspended after they refused to participate in the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, citing the pandemic.
North Korea’s decision to skip the games is surprising because China is the country’s closest ally, a trade partner despite heavy sanctions imposed by the UN on North for its nuclear weapons programme.
The decision, however, is being considered a missed opportunity by officials in South Korea because they had hoped the Olympics could provide a venue for the two Koreas, China and the United States to join a diplomatic initiative of peace between the two nations and urge North to stop its nuclear venture.
READ MORE :
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/world/asia/north-korea-beijing-olympics.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korea-says-will-miss-beijing-olympics-blaming-pandemic-hostile-f-rcna11316
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Sports/Beijing-Winter-Olympics/North-Korea-to-skip-Beijing-Winter-Olympics