Tokyo Olympics: North Korea will not participate due to Covid-19 concerns

North Korea would not be participating in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics due to concerns over Covid-19.

As per a report published in DPRK Sports, a state media outlet focusing on sports affairs, North Korean officials announced that the country would not be participating in Tokyo Olympics in order to "protect players from the world public health crisis caused by Covid-19."

The decision to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics was made by the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) Olympic Committee, which held a video conference meeting with committee members and sports officials on March 25 in Pyongyang, CNN cited a DPRK Sports report.

This is the first time that North Korea will miss the Olympics since it boycotted the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

Tokyo Olympics are slated to be held from July 23 to August 8 this year. After that, the Paralympics will follow from August 24 to September 5.

North Korea had cut off ties with the outside world in 2020 in order to curb the spread of coronavirus.