North Korea to host Asian youth weightlifting c’ships

The Asian Weightlifting Federation and North Korea’s sports minister Kim Il Guk signed an agreement on Sunday for the country to hold the championships from October 27 next year.

With seven gold medals in wrestling, North Korea has been the most successful nation in the discipline at the ongoing Asian Games.

The 2019 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships will be held in the North Korean capital Pyongyang, signal that the country may be coming in from the sporting cold.

At the Asian Games weightlifting in Jakarta, which North Korea has dominated, winning seven golds, the Asian Weightlifting Federation and North Korea’s sports minister Kim Il Guk signed an agreement on Sunday for North Korea to hold the championships from October 27 next year.

FULL COVERAGE - ASIAN GAMES

North Korean sports administrators have been hoping the country would be able to host international events after combining with South Korea in several sports at this year’s Winter Olympics and Asian Games, and also marching under one flag at the opening ceremony.

Isolated

North Korea was left isolated and subject to UN Security Council sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, meaning it lost the right to hold the 2018 Junior World Weightlifting Championships.

This year’s Youth Junior World Judo Championships were also pulled from Pyongyang before a thaw in relations, culminating in the June summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore.