Banned from the Olympics by IOC, NKorea puts blame elsewhere
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)

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)

Jan. 07, 2022 12:24 AM EST
FILE - Staff of the Pyongyang Department Store No. 1 disinfect the store to help curb the spread of the coronavirus before it opens in Pyongyang, North Korea on Dec. 28, 2020. 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)

FILE - Staff of the Pyongyang Department Store No. 1 disinfect the store to help curb the spread of the coronavirus before it opens in Pyongyang, North Korea on Dec. 28, 2020. 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)

Jan. 07, 2022 12:24 AM EST
FILE - IOC President Thomas Bach delivers a speech before the lighting of the Olympic flame at Ancient Olympia site, birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southwestern Greece on Oct. 18, 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/Petros Giannakouris, File)

FILE - IOC President Thomas Bach delivers a speech before the lighting of the Olympic flame at Ancient Olympia site, birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southwestern Greece on Oct. 18, 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/Petros Giannakouris, File)

Jan. 07, 2022 12:24 AM EST
FILE - Workers deliver a cart loaded with equipment to a commercial plaza at the Winter Olympic Village in Beijing on Dec. 24, 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/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

FILE - Workers deliver a cart loaded with equipment to a commercial plaza at the Winter Olympic Village in Beijing on Dec. 24, 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/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Jan. 07, 2022 12:23 AM EST
FILE - North Korea's Hwang Chung Gum and South Korea's Won Yun-jong carry the unification flag during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea on Feb. 9, 2018. 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/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - North Korea's Hwang Chung Gum and South Korea's Won Yun-jong carry the unification flag during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea on Feb. 9, 2018. 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/Jae C. Hong, File)

Jan. 07, 2022 12:24 AM EST