In a letter sent to China, North Korea blamed “hostile forces” and risks with Covid-19 for its decision not to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics, and accused the United States of trying to impede the Games’ success, as announced the state press of the country this Friday (7).
It is unclear whether the North Korea Olympic Committee and Sports Ministry letter referred only to the country’s athletes, who are no longer able to compete, as North Korea has been suspended from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) until the end of 2022 for not sending a team to the Tokyo Olympics last year due to fears with Covid.
A summary of the letter by the state agency KCNA made no mention of a diplomatic delegation, and the country maintained its rigid lockdown at the borders, which barred even its own diplomats and smothered virtually all trade.
The letter criticizes unspecified measures by the United States, which in December announced that its government officials will boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics because of China’s record of human rights abuses, but leaving American athletes free to travel to Beijing and compete.
Several other countries, including the UK, Australia and Canada, have also announced diplomatic boycotts since then.
“The US and its vassals are increasingly brazen in their measures against China, aimed at preventing the successful opening of the Olympic Games,” states the North Korean letter, calling the measures “an insult to the spirit of the international Olympic status and an act aimed at disgracing China’s international image”.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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