(2nd LD) (Asiad) Competition begins with celebration of host city's hospitality, harmony in Asia

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(ATTN: ADDS info on N. Korea, photo) By Yoo Jee-ho and Kim Boram

NAGOYA/TOKYO, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- The 20th edition of the Asian Games opened with a celebration of warm hospitality in the main host city of Nagoya on Saturday, with thousands of athletes from 45 nations gathering for the continent's largest sporting event.

The official name of the competition, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, features the name of both Aichi Prefecture and its capital, Nagoya. This is the third Asian Games to be held in Japan, after Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994.

South Korean athletes and officials enter Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, during the opening ceremony of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sept. 19, 2026. (Yonhap)

Nagoya is the main host but several sports will be spread in and around Aichi. All swimming races will be in Tokyo, while some football matches will be played in the cities of Osaka and Shizuoka, both outside Aichi.

Under the slogan "Imagine One Asia," athletes will compete for 469 gold medals in 43 sports and 71 disciplines through Oct. 4.

The opening ceremony, directed by Nagoya-born filmmaker Yukihiko Tsutsumi, took place at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium under the theme of "Harmonic Heart Beat," symbolizing athletes from across the continent building connections.

The ceremony, according to Tsutsumi, upheld "the spirit of warm hospitality" that defines Nagoya and Aichi, and the main stage took the shape of a large heart.

The opening ceremony for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games is underway at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 19, 2026. (Yonhap)

Athletes marched into the stadium in the order of the English alphabet for their countries' names. South Korea, going by the official name "Republic of Korea," was 16th, immediately after Kazakhstan and ahead of Kuwait.

According to the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, South Korea is competing in 41 of 43 sports -- except cricket and padel -- with 1,051 athletes and officials on hand. Of those, 50 athletes and officials from nine sports attended the opening ceremony.

South Korean rower Kim Dong-yong (L) and table tennis player Shin Yu-bin carry the national flag, Taegeukgi, during the opening ceremony of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 19, 2026. (Yonhap)

Table tennis star Shin Yu-bin and veteran rower Kim Dong-yong served as co-flag bearers for South Korea.

Shin, 22, will compete in the women's singles, women's doubles, mixed doubles and the women's team event. She and her partner, Lim Jong-hoon, are world No. 1 in the mixed doubles and are considered a big medal threat in Nagoya. At the 2023 Asian Games, Shin swept up four medals, including gold in the women's doubles.

Kim, 35, has been representing South Korea for 17 years. In Nagoya, he will compete in the men's double sculls and the quadruple sculls events, and he is considered a medal contender in the latter event.

South Korea is targeting about 45 gold medals, with a goal of narrowing the gap with Japan in the medal race as China is expected to dominate the competition once again.

At the 2023 Asian Games, Japan finished in second place with 52 gold medals, 10 more than South Korea.

South Korea will be chasing multiple gold medals out of the gate Sunday.

In modern pentathlon, Jun Woong-tae and Seong Seung-min are both gold medal contenders in the men's and women's events.

Lee Jun-suk reached the final of the men's singles in teqball, newly added to the Asian Games this year. The men's basketball team will take on Japan in the gold medal game in men's basketball.

The swimming competition will start in Tokyo on Sunday, with South Korea's Hwang Sun-woo, a six-time medalist from 2023, and his teammate Kim Young-beom will race in the men's 100-meter freestyle.

North Korea is also participating in its first Asian Games appearance on Japanese soil.

Under its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the country was eighth in the parade, right after China.

Boxer Hwang Hyo-sun and table tennis player U Tae-ryong carried their country's flag, as their fellow athletes and officials, decked out in white jackets and blue trousers or skirts, waved their flags behind them. Some were seen taking photos with what appeared to be their smartphones.

North Korea has sent 107 athletes to 14 sports. It finished 10th at each of the past two editions of the Asian Games -- winning 12 gold medals in 2018 and 11 gold medals in 2023.

North Korean athletes and officials enter Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, during the opening ceremony of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sept. 19, 2026. (Yonhap)

jeeho@yna.co.kr (END)

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(2nd LD) (Asiad) Competition begins with celebration of host city's hospitality, harmony in Asia

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（注：新增朝鲜相关信息及照片）作者：柳智浩、金宝蓝

名古屋/东京，9月19日（韩联社）——第20届亚运会于周六在主会场名古屋盛大开幕，来自45个国家的数千名运动员齐聚一堂，参加亚洲最大的体育盛会。

本次赛事的正式名称为“爱知-名古屋亚运会”，其中包含了爱知县及其首府名古屋的名称。这是继1958年东京亚运会和1994年广岛亚运会之后，日本第三次举办亚运会。

2026年9月19日，在爱知-名古屋亚运会开幕式上，韩国运动员和官员进入位于日本名古屋的名古屋市瑞穗公园体育场。（韩联社）

名古屋是主会场，但部分体育项目将在爱知县及其周边地区举行。所有游泳比赛都将在东京举行，而部分足球比赛将在大阪和静冈这两个爱知县以外的城市进行。

在“想象一个亚洲”的口号下，运动员们将在 43 个体育项目和 71 个分项中角逐 469 枚金牌，比赛将持续到 10 月 4 日。

开幕式由名古屋出生的电影导演堤幸彦执导，在名古屋市瑞穗公园体育场举行，主题为“和谐的心跳”，象征着来自整个大陆的运动员建立联系。

据堤先生称，此次仪式秉承了名古屋和爱知“热情好客”的精神，主舞台呈大心形。

2026年9月19日，爱知-名古屋亚运会开幕式在日本名古屋市瑞穗公园体育场举行。（韩联社）

运动员们按照各自国家名称的英文字母顺序入场。韩国，正式名称为“大韩民国”，排在第16位，紧随哈萨克斯坦之后，科威特之前。

据韩国体育与奥林匹克委员会称，韩国参加了除板球和板式网球以外的41个比赛项目，共有1051名运动员和官员参赛。其中，来自9个项目的50名运动员和官员出席了开幕式。

2026年9月19日，在日本名古屋市瑞穗公园体育场举行的爱知-名古屋亚运会开幕式上，韩国赛艇运动员金东龙（左）和乒乓球运动员申宥彬高举韩国国旗太极旗。（韩联社）

乒乓球明星申裕彬和资深赛艇运动员金东勇担任韩国代表团的共同旗手。

22岁的申智英将参加女子单打、女子双打、混双和女子团体赛。她和搭档林钟勋目前是混双世界排名第一，被认为是名古屋亚运会奖牌的有力争夺者。在2023年亚运会上，申智英斩获四枚奖牌，其中包括女子双打金牌。

35岁的金已经代表韩国参赛17年了。在名古屋，他将参加男子双人双桨和四人双桨比赛，并被认为是四人双桨项目的奖牌争夺者。

韩国的目标是获得约 45 枚金牌，以缩小与日本在奖牌榜上的差距，因为预计中国将再次主导比赛。

在2023年亚运会上，日本以52枚金牌位居第二，比韩国多10枚。

韩国队将在周日的比赛中力争多枚金牌。

在现代五项比赛中，全雄泰和成承民分别是男子组和女子组的金牌争夺者。

李俊锡闯入了今年亚运会新增项目——特克球男子单打决赛。男篮将与日本队争夺男篮金牌。

游泳比赛将于周日在东京开始，韩国选手黄善宇（2023年以来六次获得奖牌）将与队友金永范参加男子100米自由泳比赛。

朝鲜也将首次参加在日本举办的亚运会。

该国以其正式名称“朝鲜民主主义人民共和国”参加阅兵式，位列第八，紧随中国之后。

拳击手黄孝善和乒乓球运动员禹泰龙手持国旗，他们的运动员和官员们身着白色外套和蓝色裤子或裙子，在他们身后挥舞着国旗。一些人似乎在用智能手机拍照。

朝鲜派出了107名运动员参加14个体育项目。在过去两届亚运会上，朝鲜均获得第十名——2018年获得12枚金牌，2023年获得11枚金牌。

2026年9月19日，在爱知-名古屋亚运会开幕式上，朝鲜运动员和官员进入位于日本名古屋的名古屋市瑞穗公园体育场。（韩联社）

jeeho@yna.co.kr (完)

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报道称，朝鲜的核试验可能引发了超过1300次地震。

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