North Korea government
FILE - South Korean President Moon Jae-in, front left, shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's younger sister Kim Yo Jong during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea on Feb. 9, 2018. North Korea basked in the global limelight during the last Winter Games in South Korea, with hundreds of athletes, cheerleaders and officials pushing hard to woo their South Korean and U.S. rivals in a now-stalled bid for diplomacy. Four years later, as the 2022 Winter Olympics come to its main ally and neighbor China, North Korea isn't sending any athletes and officials because of coronavirus fears. (Kim Ju-sung/Yonhap via AP, File)
'Someone else's festival': No North Korea at ally's Olympics

By Hyung-Jin Kim And Kim Tong-Hyung Feb. 04, 2022 11:29 PM EST

FILE - Citizens wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk in Pyongyang, North Korea on Aug. 25, 2021. North Korea said Friday, Jan. 7, 2022 it would skip next month’s Beijing Olympics because of the COVID-19 pandemic and "hostile forces' moves," a largely redundant statement since the country has already been banned from the Games by the IOC. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin, File)
Banned from the Olympics by IOC, NKorea puts blame elsewhere

By Hyung-Jin Kim Jan. 06, 2022 11:48 PM EST

FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2018, file photo, North Korean cheerleaders sing during the men's 500 meters short track speedskating semifinal in the Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea. At the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, North Korea had no real medal contenders, but it was among the most watched nations at the Games, with a huge delegation highlighted by a 229-member strong, all-female cheering squad. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
Even in absence, North Korea's presence felt at Tokyo Games

By Foster Klug Jul. 28, 2021 04:27 AM EDT

WBA woman super featherweight champion Choi Hyunmi smiles during an interview in Seoul, South Korea, on June 21, 2021. South Korea’s only boxing world champion is Choi, a North Korean defector who fled her authoritarian homeland as a 13-year-old girl with her family in 2003. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Defector no more: Choi a proud South Korean world champion

By Hyung-Jin Kim Jul. 19, 2021 02:33 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2018, file photo, Kim Yo Jong, right, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, and Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, center, observe with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, second from left, and first lady Kim Jung-sook during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. North Korea has decided not to participate in this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo as it continues a self-imposed lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. A website run by the North's Sports Ministry said the decision was made during a national Olympic Committee meeting on March 25, 2021 where members prioritized protecting athletes from the “world public health crisis caused by COVID-19.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
EXPLAINER: Why is North Korea skipping the Tokyo Olympics?

By Hyung-Jin Kim Apr. 06, 2021 06:36 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2018, file photo, IOC president Thomas Bach, second from left, and Kim Yo Jong, right, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, talks with players after the preliminary round of the women's hockey game between Switzerland and the combined Koreas at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea. North Korea has decided not to participate in this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo as it continues a self-imposed lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. A website run by the North's Sports Ministry said the decision was made during a national Olympic Committee meeting on March 25, 2021 where members prioritized protecting athletes from the “world public health crisis caused by COVID-19.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
North Korea says it won't participate in Tokyo Olympics

By Kim Tong-Hyung Apr. 05, 2021 09:29 PM EDT

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks during the virtual summit of the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S., a group known as “the Quad", at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, March 12, 2021. (Kiyoshi Ota/Pool via AP)
Japanese PM Suga expects to invite Biden to Tokyo Olympics

Stephen Wade And Mari Yamaguchi Mar. 26, 2021 05:32 AM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 2, 1988, file photo, South Korea's Park Si-hun, left, delivers a left jab to America's Roy Jones, and goes on to win the gold medal in the gold medal bout of the light middleweight division at the summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. (AP Photo/Ron Kutz, File)
Evictions, drugs, boxing rows: reliving '88 Games in Seoul

By Kim Tong-Hyung Aug. 11, 2020 03:12 PM EDT

People walk by a departures monitor at the Rome Leonardo da Vinci international airport, Thursday, March 12, 2020. Italians woke up to yet further virus-containment restrictions after Premier Giuseppe Conte ordered restaurants, cafes and retail shops closed after imposing a nationwide lockdown on personal movement. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The Latest: Japan's Olympics minister reaffirms no delay

By The Associated Press Mar. 13, 2020 03:14 AM EDT