North Korea has said it will not participate in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, while Seoul saw the Games as an opportunity to revive US-Pyongyang talks.
While South Korea hoped to seize the opportunity of the 2021 Olympic Games in Japan to revive talks with North Korea, Pyongyang withdrew from the competition.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the North Korean government announced on Tuesday morning that it will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics to be held this summer to protect its athletes against the Covid 19 virus epidemic.
The decision was made not to participate in the 2021 Olympics during a meeting of the North Korean National Olympic Committee, the news agency reported, quoting Pyongyang’s Sports website.
A statement posted on the site said: “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has decided not to participate in the 32nd Olympic Games in order to protect its athletes from the global health crisis associated with the Corona virus.”
About a month ago, South Korean President Moon Jae-in described the Olympics as a good time to revive US-North Korean nuclear disarmament talks.
In recent decades, the United States has deployed troops in South Korea and neighboring North Korea, and has repeatedly called for its dismantling, but Pyongyang has vowed to ensure its security and survival.
Earlier, South Korean Union Minister Lee In-yong had warned that if the sanctions against North Korea were not reviewed, there could be a serious humanitarian crisis in the country.