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North Korea says it won’t attend Beijing Olympics, blames COVID-19 and ‘hostile forces’

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In a letter to China, North Korea blamed “hostile forces” and COVID-19 risks for not being able to attend the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing and accused the United States of trying to prevent the Games’ success, state media said on Friday.

It was unclear whether the letter from North Korea’s Olympic Committee and Sports Ministry was referring only to its athletes who are not eligible to compete after North Korea was suspended from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) until the end of 2022 after failing to send a team to the Tokyo Olympics last year, citing COVID-19 concerns.

The letter criticised unspecified moves by the United States, which in December announced its government officials will boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics because of China’s human rights record, while leaving US athletes free to travel to Beijing to compete.

“The US and its vassal forces are getting ever more undisguised in their moves against China aimed at preventing the successful opening of the Olympics,” the North Korean letter said, calling the moves “an insult to the spirit of the international Olympic Charter and as a base act of attempting to disgrace the international image of China.”

China has been North Korea’s only major ally since the two signed a treaty in 1961, and international sanctions imposed over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes have made it more dependent than ever on Beijing for trade and other support.

“We could not take part in the Olympics due to the hostile forces’ moves and the worldwide pandemic, but we would fully support the Chinese comrades in all their work to hold splendid and wonderful Olympic festival,” the letter said, according to KCNA.

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