The country said it would skip this summer’s Olympics to “protect players from the global public health crisis caused by Covid-19,” according to a report released Tuesday on North Korean media DPRK sports, a website on sports.
The decision was made by the DPRK Olympic Committee, which held a videoconference meeting with committee members and sports officials on March 25 in the capital Pyongyang, DPRK Sports reported.
The Games currently take place from July 23 to August 8. The Paralympic Games will follow, from August 24 to 5.
Organizers were forced to postpone the Olympics for the first time in event history in March 2020 due to the coronvairus pandemic.
Last month, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee said international viewers could not enter Japan due to the prevalence of coronavirus in the country and abroad.