(Olympics) N. Korea to have 16 athletes in 7 sports in Paris

Making its first Summer Olympics appearance in eight years, North Korea will have 16 athletes competing in seven sports in Paris, data showed Tuesday. According to the organizing committee for Paris 2024, North Korea will have 12 female and four male athletes in artistic gymnastics, athletics, boxing, swimming, diving, judo, table tennis and wrestling. North Korea will have its biggest representation in wrestling with five athletes, followed by three athletes each in table tennis and diving. North Korea skipped the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, citing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Olympic Committee then suspended North Korea from international competitions until the end of 2022, while also cutting off financial aid. After the ban was lifted, the reclusive country competed at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, last fall, and will return to the Summer Olympics this month for the first time since 2016. In 2016, North Korea grabbed two gold, three silver and two bronze medals to finish 34t h in the medal table. Artistic gymnast An Chang-ok, the reigning Asian Games gold medalist in the women's vault and uneven bars, will be among the dozen female athletes for North Korea. Source: Yonhap News Agency