DPRK cancels participation of S.Korea-hosted Summer Universiade

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has canceled its participation in the South Korea- hosted Summer Universiade, the organizing committee said Monday.

An official at the Gwangju 2015 Universiade organizing committee said by phone that the DPRK sent an email on June 19 that notified the organizer of its difficulty in joining the summer university sports games set to kick off on July 3 in the city of Gwangju, some 330 km south of Seoul.

The organizing committee has been discussing with the Unification Ministry about why the DPRK has called off its participation.

The DPRK said in March that it would send a squad of 108 athletes to the Gwangju Universiade to participate in six individual sports events, including track and field, diving, gymnastics and table tennis, as well as two team events for women like soccer and handball. Enditem