North Korea opened its own winter sports competition Wednesday at the Mount Paektu Sports Village after failing to qualify athletes for the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, YTN reported Thursday.
The “2026 National Winter Sports Competition” opening ceremony was held at the ice hockey arena in the Mount Paektu District Sports Village in Samjiyon, Ryanggang province, according to Korean Central News Agency cited by YTN. The sports complex, located at an elevation of 1,600 meters near Pegae Peak, features ice rinks, ski slopes and athlete accommodations.
The competition will include more than 50 events across five sports, including ice hockey, figure skating and skiing. A speaker at the opening ceremony described the event as “an important opportunity to make another leap forward in winter sports technology,” KCNA reported.
North Korea failed to qualify any athletes for the Winter Olympics opening Friday in Milan, Italy, according to YTN. The country’s top figure skating pair, Ryom Tae Ok and Kim Ju Sik, also missed qualification. North Korea last competed at the Winter Olympics during the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
After declining to send athletes to the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021, the International Olympic Committee suspended North Korea’s National Olympic Committee membership through the end of 2022, which also prevented participation in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
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