Why is N. Korea sending bigger-than-expected team to Asian Games in Japan?

North Korea is sending a larger-than-expected delegation to the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan, with a report saying about 180 people will compete in 14 sports. The team is expected to seek medals in women’s football, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. The move comes as inter-Korean relations remain strained and Japan makes exceptions to its entry ban for sporting exchanges.

A North Korean delegation of about 60 people arrived in Beijing from Pyongyang on Tuesday, according to Japan’s Kyodo News.

The delegation is expected to enter Japan as early as Thursday with permission from the Japanese government.

Kyodo News reported that North Korea plans to send about 180 people and compete in 14 sports.

Ko Chol-ho said last month that North Korea would send more than 100 participants in an interview with the Choson Sinbo.

North Korea has objected to being referred to as North Korea, the North or the North in English, preferring its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Published Sep 11, 2026 11:44 am KST

More than 100 athletes to compete in 14 sports, including wrestling and women's football

The North Korean delegation arrives at the welcoming ceremony at the 2022 Asian Games Athletes’ Village flag plaza in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 22, 2022. Yonhap

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea has placed greater importance on sporting achievements, so its athletes are likely to use their conduct and interviews during the Games to project confidence in the regime.

North Korea, seeking gold medals in women’s football, table tennis, weightlifting and other sports, has begun its journey to the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

The North is expected to encounter South Korean athletes amid some of the coldest inter-Korean relations in years, following the recent confirmation that Pyongyang has removed references to “unification” and “the Korean nation” from the rules of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.

According to Japan’s Kyodo News, a North Korean delegation of about 60 people arrived in Beijing on a flight from Pyongyang on Tuesday. The delegation is expected to enter Japan as early as Thursday with permission from the Japanese government.

Japan generally bans the entry of North Korean nationals as part of its independent sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs, but has made exceptions for sporting exchanges.

The North Korean delegation is expected to number about 180 people and compete in 14 sports, including football, weightlifting, table tennis and wrestling, according to the report. The figure is larger than the “more than 100” participants cited last month by Ko Chol-ho, secretary-general of North Korea’s National Olympic Committee, in an interview with the Choson Sinbo, a newspaper affiliated with the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, known as Chongryon.

North Korean athletes are expected to vie for medals in women’s football, where the country has long been a powerhouse on the international stage, as well as table tennis, in which its athletes won medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Experts say North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has increasingly used sports to project an image of a “normal state” since gaining confidence from the country’s development of nuclear weapons, and that he is likely to have placed greater emphasis on assembling a competitive delegation this time.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea has placed greater importance on sporting achievements, so its athletes are likely to use their conduct and interviews during the Games to project confidence in the regime,” said Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

However, Kim is also likely to maintain his overtly hostile stance toward South Korea, which he has officially defined as a separate state since 2023, and Japan, which Pyongyang has described as a hostile country.

In particular, North Korea is expected to remain sensitive over how its country is referred to, a stance that became especially apparent during the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Pyongyang has objected to references to the country as “North Korea,” “the North” or “North Korea” in English, preferring its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The South Korean delegation, meanwhile, appears to be seeking to minimize unnecessary friction with the North under the Lee Jae Myung administration’s policy of “peaceful coexistence.”

Kim Taek-soo, head of the Jincheon National Training Center and a former table tennis player who has memories of competing on a unified inter-Korean team, as well as delegation chief Lee Sang-hyun, a former member of the National Council of Civic Groups for Reconciliation and Cooperation, are expected to avoid actions that could unnecessarily provoke Pyongyang.

“There will be many matches between the two Koreas, and various scenes will unfold,” Lee said. “I believe these Games could serve as a starting point and a foundation for easing inter-Korean relations in the future.”

Korean national judo team member Heo Mimi, left, trains during an open practice session at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games national judo team’s media day, held at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon County, North Chungcheong Province, Wednesday. Yonhap

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

朝鲜将派出规模超出预期的代表团参加2026年在日本举行的爱知-名古屋亚运会，据报道，约有180人将参加14个项目的比赛。预计朝鲜代表队将在女子足球、乒乓球、举重和摔跤项目中冲击奖牌。此举正值朝韩关系持续紧张之际，而日本也对体育交流项目破例放宽了入境禁令。

据日本共同社报道，一个由约60人组成的朝鲜代表团于周二从平壤抵达北京。

经日本政府许可，代表团预计最早将于周四入境日本。

共同社报道称，朝鲜计划派出约180人参加14个体育项目的比赛。

高哲浩上个月表示，朝鲜将派出100多名参与者接受朝鲜新报的采访。

朝鲜反对在英语中被称为朝鲜、北方或北国，更喜欢使用其正式名称“朝鲜民主主义人民共和国”。

发布于2026年9月11日上午11:44（韩国标准时间）

超过100名运动员将参加14个体育项目的比赛，其中包括摔跤和女子足球。

2022年9月22日，朝鲜代表团抵达位于中国杭州的2022年亚运会运动员村旗广场，参加欢迎仪式。（韩联社）

自新冠疫情爆发以来，朝鲜更加重视体育成就，因此其运动员可能会利用他们在奥运会期间的行为和采访来展现对政权的信心。

朝鲜已开始冲击2026年爱知-名古屋亚运会金牌，力争在女子足球、乒乓球、举重等项目中夺得金牌。

在平壤方面最近证实已从朝鲜劳动党的党章中删除了“统一”和“朝鲜民族”等字眼之后，朝韩关系正处于近年来最冷的时期，预计朝鲜将与韩国运动员会面。

据日本共同社报道，一个约60人的朝鲜代表团周二乘飞机从平壤抵达北京。经日本政府批准，该代表团预计最早将于周四入境日本。

作为对平壤核武器和导弹计划的独立制裁的一部分，日本通常禁止朝鲜国民入境，但对体育交流除外。

据报道，朝鲜代表团预计将有约180人参加比赛，参赛项目包括足球、举重、乒乓球和摔跤等14个体育项目。这一数字高于朝鲜奥委会秘书长高哲浩上月在接受《朝鲜新报》（隶属于在日朝鲜人总会的报纸）采访时所说的“超过100人”。

预计朝鲜运动员将在女子足球和乒乓球项目中争夺奖牌。朝鲜长期以来一直是国际足坛的强国，而朝鲜运动员曾在2024年巴黎奥运会上获得乒乓球奖牌。

专家表示，自朝鲜发展核武器以来，朝鲜领导人金正恩越来越重视利用体育运动来塑造“正常国家”的形象，而且他这次可能更加重视组建一支有竞争力的代表团。

“自新冠疫情爆发以来，朝鲜更加重视体育成就，因此其运动员可能会利用他们在奥运会期间的行为和采访来展现对政权的信心，”韩国统一研究院高级研究员洪敏表示。

然而，金正恩也可能继续对韩国（他自 2023 年起正式将韩国定义为一个独立的国家）和日本（平壤称日本为敌对国家）保持公开的敌对立场。

尤其值得注意的是，朝鲜预计仍将对其国家名称的称呼保持敏感，这一点在2022年杭州亚运会期间表现得尤为明显。平壤反对在英语中使用“North Korea”、“the North”或“North Korea”等称谓，更倾向于使用其正式名称“朝鲜民主主义人民共和国”。

与此同时，韩国代表团似乎正努力在李在明政府“和平共处”政策的指导下，尽量减少与朝鲜之间不必要的摩擦。

镇川国家训练中心主任、曾代表朝韩联队参加比赛的前乒乓球运动员金泽洙，以及曾任全国公民团体和解合作委员会成员的代表团团长李相铉，预计将避免采取可能不必要地激怒平壤的行动。

李说：“韩朝之间将进行多场比赛，各种场面也将上演。我相信，本届奥运会可以成为未来缓和韩朝关系的起点和基础。”

韩国国家柔道队队员许美美（左）周三在忠清北道镇川郡镇川国家训练中心举行的2026年爱知-名古屋亚运会国家柔道队媒体日公开训练课上进行训练。（韩联社）

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。