SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea, referring to the coronavirus, is the first country in the world to leave the Tokyo Olympics.
It is true that the North is extremely sensitive to COVID-19, knowing that a widespread outbreak in a country with an already battered health system could be disastrous.
But North Korea has also previously used major sporting events to set up diplomacy with the United States, intended to win much-needed sanction assistance in exchange for commitments on nuclear disarmament. Some see withdrawal from the Olympics as the North sending Washington a message.
Here’s a look at the North Korean decision and what it could mean.
LEGITIMATE VIRUS FARMS
A state-run website said Tuesday that North Korea’s Olympic Committee has decided not to participate in the Tokyo Games starting in July “to protect players from the global public health crisis caused by COVID-19.”
North Korea has previously boycotted Olympics and other international sporting events for political reasons or failed to show up when none of its athletes or teams qualified. But this is the first time North Korea has withdrawn from a major international sporting event mentioning an infectious disease, the Seoul Ministry of Unification said.
Pyongyang has earned a reputation for withdrawing from talks with Seoul and Washington before returning at the last minute to bolster its negotiating position. But as the country has been on high alert for COVID-19, experts say it is unlikely to reverse its Olympic decision.
North Korea has “shown a coronavirus-related neurosis since it announced an emergency antivirus system in January last year,” said Park Won Gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
Park said it is highly unlikely that North Korea will get enough vaccines for its 26 million people by July or that major strides have been made in its antivirus control.
North Korean officials know how disastrous a major virus outbreak would be in a country with a public health infrastructure that has been in ruins for decades. North Korea has taken some of the world’s most draconian antivirus measures to date, including a 15-month closure of its international borders and the departure of foreign nationals.
North Korea still claims to be officially coronavirus-free, a claim many foreign experts dispute.
North Korea’s decision to skip the Olympics shows that it “now finds contact with foreigners the most dangerous,” said Seo Yu-Seok of the Seoul-based Institute of North Korean Studies.
A MESSAGE TO WASHINGTON
The North Korean announcement, three months before the Games begin, could indicate that Pyongyang is rejecting repeated pressure from Seoul to use the Olympics to create an atmosphere for dialogue. It could also demonstrate a determination to increase the pressure on US President Joe Biden’s new administration.
North Korea is sending the message that it now wants to deal directly with the US rather than using the Olympics as a venue to contact Washington for talks, said Kwak Gil Sup, head of One Korea Center, a website that specializes. is in North Korea matters. .
Now-stalled nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington began in 2018 following a reconciliation in the Korean Peninsula following North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Games in the South earlier that year.
During those Olympics, athletes from Korea marched together under one association flag at the opening ceremony and formed Korea’s first-ever joint team in women’s ice hockey. Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, became the first member of the ruling family of the north to visit South Korea since the end of the Korean War of 1950-53.
Little progress has been made in the nuclear talks over the past two years. North Korea recently fired two ballistic missiles at sea in the first such weapons tests in a year. Kim Yo Jong has warned Washington not to “cause a stench”, calling the president of South Korea “a parrot raised by America.”
Experts say North Korea eventually wants talks with the Biden government to ease sanctions and improve ties as its economy was devastated last year by the pandemic, US-led sanctions and natural disasters.
Analyst Seo said North Korea was likely unsure of the benefits of attending the Games in Tokyo, as Biden has made it clear that he will not participate in TV summits with Kim Jong Un like his predecessor Donald Trump did.
“They knew they would return home empty-handed from Tokyo,” said Seo.
But North Korea’s domestic troubles may prompt the country to continue talks with the United States soon.
Seo said North Korea could conduct major weapons tests, such as an intercontinental ballistic missile launch, in the coming months if it is not satisfied with the Biden government’s policy review expected to be completed soon.