IOC bans North Korea from Beijing Winter Olympics as punishment for skipping Tokyo Games

North Korea has been barred from participating in the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. According to AP, the International Olympic Committee has taken the decision as a punishment for the country that refused to participate in the Tokyo Olympics Games, citing the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the North Korean national Olympic body will also not receive the money due from the previous Olympics.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach announced that North Korea’s national Olympic committee is suspended until the end of 2022. The exclusion could be extended, in addition to not being allowed to participate in the Winter Olympics in Beijing, according to AP. Bach added that the North Korean national Olympic body would also not receive the money due from the previous Olympics. The money had already been held up due to international sanctions.

“They were violating the Olympic Charter and did not fulfil their obligation as stated in the Olympic charter to participate,” Bach said at a news conference after an IOC executive board meeting.

Furthermore, the IOC President noted that if any North Korean athletes qualify to participate in the Winter Olympics, they could still be accepted by taking a separate decision in due course of time. North Korea withdrew its team from the Tokyo Olympics in April, citing concern that its athletes could contract COVID. Earlier in the 2018 Winter Games, North Korea had sent ten competitors to the 2018 Winter Games. The country sent not a single candidate to participate in Russia in 2015, while two participants had been sent to Vancouver in 2010. Speaking about countries' participation in the Olympics, Bach it can “show to the world how it could look like if everybody would respect the same rules if everybody would live together peacefully without any kind of discrimination.”

Image: AP

Inputs from AP