North Korea has announced that it will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics to protect athletes from Corona 19. The expectations of the Korean government to use the Tokyo Olympics as an opportunity for dialogue with North Korea have been eliminated.
Ahn Jung Shik is a reporter specializing in North Korea.
<기자>
North Korea announced on the website of the Ministry of Sports that North Korea held a general meeting of the Olympic Committee in Pyongyang on the 25th of last month and decided not to attend the Tokyo Olympics.
It was decided not to attend the Olympics to protect athletes in the context of the global health crisis caused by Corona 19.
North Korea is the first country in the world to declare absence from the Tokyo Olympics, and it has been 33 years since the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
The possibility of North Korea’s absence from the Olympics has been steadily raised as the border is blocked to prevent coronavirus, but the government has raised expectations to use the Tokyo Olympics as an opportunity for dialogue like the second PyeongChang Olympics.
[문재인 대통령/3·1절 기념사 : 도쿄 올림픽은 한일 간, 남북 간, 북일 간 그리고 북미 간의 대화의 기회가 될 수도 있습니다.]
Japanese Prime Minister Suga also expressed his willingness to talk with North Korea, saying he would meet Kim Yeo-jung if he came to the Olympics.
[스가/일본 총리 (지난달 26일) : (김여정과의 만남이) 납치 문제 해결에 도움이 된다면 그것을 해결하는 것이 나의 일이라고 생각합니다. 온갖 가능성을 생각해 대응하고 싶습니다.]
The government said it felt sorry for the North Korean decision.
Although North Korea decided not to attend the Olympics because of Corona 19, some analyzes show that it is not active in improving external relations.