IOC suspends North Korea for skipping Tokyo Olympics

Sports Desk, Sep 8 (EFE).- The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee announced Wednesday the suspension the North Korean Olympic Committee until the end of 2022 for its “unilateral decision” to skip the Tokyo 2020 Games.

The participation of North Korean athletes in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing will be considered on a case-by-case basis, IOC President Thomas Bach said.

“The NOC (National Olympic Committee) of the People’s Republic of Korea was the only NOC not participating in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” he said.

North Korea sports officials said in early April that the country’s athletes would not compete in Tokyo due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Health guarantees, including “the provision of vaccines” offered to North Korea “were systematically rejected,” the IOC said.

The suspension will prevent the North Korean Olympic Committee from benefiting from IOC aid programs or receiving a share of distribution of income from the Tokyo Games, Bach said. EFE nam/ta/dr