SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea, referring to the coronavirus, has become the first country in the world to abandon the Tokyo Olympics.
It is true that the North is extremely sensitive about COVID-19, knowing that a widespread outbreak in a country with an already battered health system could be a disaster.
But North Korea has also used major sporting events in the past to set up diplomacy with the United States aimed at winning the much-needed sanction relief in exchange for promises of nuclear disarmament. Some see the exit from the Olympics while North Washington sends a message.
Here’s a look at the North Korean decision and what it could mean.
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LEGAL VIRUS FEAR
A state-run website said on Tuesday that the North Korean Olympic Committee had 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 previously boycotted or failed to appear at Olympic Games and other international sporting events for political reasons when none of its athletes or teams qualified. But this is the first time North Korea has withdrawn from a major international sporting event, citing a contagious disease, according to the Ministry of Unity in Seoul.
Pyongyang developed a reputation for withdrawing from talks with Seoul and Washington before returning at the last minute to strengthen his bargaining power. As the country has kept abreast of COVID-19, experts say there is little chance it will reverse its decision on the Olympics.
North Korea has shown a coronavirus-related neurosis since declaring 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 was highly unlikely that North Korea would get enough vaccines for its 26 million people or report major progress in its anti-virus battle by July.
North Korean officials know how disastrous a major virus outbreak would be in a country with public health infrastructure that has been in a state of disarray for decades. North Korea has so far taken some of the world’s most draconian antivirus steps, including closing its 15-month international borders and leaving foreign nationals.
North Korea still officially claims that it is not coronavirus, which is disputed by many foreign experts.
North Korea’s decision to skip the Olympics shows that it ‘thinks that contact with foreigners is the most dangerous thing right now’, Seo Yu-Seok told the North Korean Institute in Seoul.
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A MESSAGE TO WASHINGTON
The North Korean announcement, three months before the Games begins, could indicate that Pyongyang is rejecting repeated pressure from Seoul to use the Olympics to create a mood for dialogue. It could also show a determination to increase pressure on the new government of US President Joe Biden.
North Korea is sending the message that it now wants to trade directly with the US, rather than using the Olympics as a place to reach out to Washington for talks, says Kwak Gil Sup, head of One Korea Center, a website specializing in business in North Korea. .
Close-knit nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington began in 2018 following a reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula following North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Games in the South earlier that year.
During the Olympics, athletes from Korea gathered under a single uniform flag during the opening ceremony, forming for the first time the Koreas’ 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 North ruling family to visit South Korea since the end of the Korean War from 1950 to 53.
Over the past two years, there has been little progress with nuclear talks. North Korea recently fired two ballistic missiles into the sea in the first such weapons tests in a year. Kim Yo Jong warned Washington not to cause a stink and called the president of South Korea a parrot raised by America. ‘
Experts say North Korea wants to finally negotiate with the Biden government to get sanctions easing and better ties because the economy was devastated last year by the US-led pandemic, sanctions and natural disasters.
Analyst Seo said North Korea is unlikely to be sure about the benefits of attending the Tokyo Games, as Biden has made it clear that he is not having a summit with Kim Jong Un, like his predecessor Donald Trump with Kim Jong Un would not participate.
“They knew they would return home empty-handed from Tokyo,” Seo said.
But North Korea’s domestic problems could prompt it to negotiate with the United States soon.
Seo said North Korea could do major weapons tests, such as an intercontinental ballistic missile launch, in the coming months if it is not satisfied with the Biden government’s North Korean policy review, which will be completed soon.