SEOUL — North Korea said on Friday that it would not participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics because of the coronavirus pandemic and moves by “hostile forces.”
Its no-show at the Beijing u200bGames would deprive South Korea of a rare opportunity to establish official contact with the u200bNorth. Officials from the South had hoped that the u200bOlympics would provide a venue foru200b official delegates from both Koreas to meet to discuss issues beyond sports.
In a letter hand-delivered on Wednesday to China by the North’s ambassador, the country’s Olympic Committee and its ministry of sports wished Beijing a successful Games even though “the U.