South 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 - 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

FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2020, file photo, a visitor carrying a rising sun flag enters Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo as Japan marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Japan’s “rising sun” flag is raising anger at the Olympics, with some of the host nation’s neighbors calling for it to be banned during the Tokyo Games, which start Friday, July 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
EXPLAINER: Why Japan 'rising sun' flag provokes Olympic ire

By Hyung-Jin Kim And Mari Yamaguchi Jul. 22, 2021 08:42 PM EDT

A protester stands to oppose South Korean President Moon Jae-in's possible visit to Japan in front of a building which houses Japanese embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 19, 2021. Moon has decided not to visit Japan for the Tokyo Summer Olympics, citing a failure to set up a summit with Japan's prime minister that would produce meaningful results in improving relations. The signs on a banner at left read "Expel Hirohisa Soma, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, from South Korea." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
With no summit, South Korean president to skip Olympics

By Kim Tong-Hyung Jul. 19, 2021 05:41 AM EDT

Banners with the words "I still have the support of 50 million Korean people," are removed from balconies at the the Olympic athletes' village in Tokyo Saturday, July 17, 2021. South Korea's Olympic Committee said Saturday it has removed banners at the Olympic athletes' village in Tokyo that called up a 16th-century war between Korea and Japan after the International Olympic Committee ruled it was provocative. (Jin Sung-chul/Yonhap via AP)
SKorea removes banners at Olympic village after IOC ruling

By Kim Tong-Hyung Jul. 17, 2021 02:36 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

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

A food delivery courier, center, rides a bike among emptied office buildings during an evening rush hour, with the St. Nicholas church in the background, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 2, 2020. President Vladimir Putin has ordered most Russians to stay off work until the end of the month to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
The Latest: Russian police detain activists delivering gear

By The Associated Press Apr. 03, 2020 01:45 AM EDT

In this Wednesday, April 1, 2020 photo, Ryan Eble, left, and his father, Chris, talk in their milk house while fresh milk gushes down a drain at the Eble family's Golden E Dairy near West Bend, Wis. Many dairy processing plants across Wisconsin have more product than they can handle and that's forced farmers to begin dumping their milk down the drain. The Eble's are forced to dump 25,000 gallons of milk a day from their 2400 milling cows. The coronavirus has dried up the marketplace for dairy products as restaurants, schools and business in food service have been closed. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)
The Latest: India's PM looks to boost country's morale

By The Associated Press Apr. 02, 2020 02:18 PM EDT