IOC Suspends North Korean Olympic Committee Until End of 2022 for Skipping Tokyo Games

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) - Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced on Wednesday that the North Korean National Olympic Committee (NOC) is suspended until the end of 2022 for not joining the Tokyo Olympics.

"The fact is that the only National Olympic Committee which did not participate in the Olympic Games in Tokyo was the National Olympic Committee of the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea… Therefore the IOC Executive Board addressed this situation and decided today that the National Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is suspended until the end of the year 2022 as a result of its unilateral decision not to participate in the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020", Bach stated at a press conference aired on YouTube.

Pyongyang violated its obligations under the Olympic charter by not sending athletes to take part in the competitions, the official added.

"The crude financial support from the IOC for the NOC that was due to be allocated… will be definitely forfeited given that the NOC did not contribute to the success of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020", Bach added.

North Korea announced in April that it would not participate in the Olympic games for the sake of protecting its athletes’ health. It was the first time the country declined to take part in the competition since 1988.

The Winter Olympic Games are to be held in Beijing from 4-20 February 2022.