North Korea has been banned from the 2022 Beijing Winter Games after the International Olympic Committee suspended the isolated regime for not participating in this year’s Tokyo Olympics.
IOC President Thomas Bach announced the decision Wednesday in Lausanne, telling reporters North Korea was the only nation that failed to send a team to Tokyo, which violated their obligations under the Olympic charter.
Pyongyang refused to send a team to Tokyo due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tokyo Olympics were held under a state of emergency imposed due to the growing rate of infections in the Japanese capital and throughout Japan.
Bach said the North Korean Olympic Committee will not receive any financial support during the suspension, but added that the IOC reserves the right to consider any North Korean individuals who qualify for the Beijing Olympics, and to even reconsider the duration of the North’s suspension.
North Korea participated in the 2018 Winter Olympics that were staged in Pyeongchang in rival South Korea.
Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
