Banned from the Olympics by IOC, NKorea puts blame elsewhere

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says it will skip next month’s Beijing Olympics because of the COVID-19 pandemic and “hostile forces’ moves.” Its statement is largely redundant since it has already been suspended from the Games by the IOC. The International Olympic Committee last September suspended North Korea through 2022 for refusing to send a team to the Tokyo Summer Games because of the pandemic. North Korea’s state media says its Olympic committee and sports ministry sent a letter to their Chinese counterparts to explain why it cannot go to the Games. The North Korean letter accused the United States and its allies of trying to hamper the successful hosting of the Games.