[Yonhap News Photo]
North Korean athletes will compete in nine sports at next month's summer Olympics in in Rio de Janeiro, Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) disclosed the names of players who will compete in judo, wrestling, gymnastics and swimming. The names included weightlifter Om Yun-chol, the reigning Olympic champ in the men's 56kg.
North Korean athletes will also compete in other sports such as marathon, table tennis, archery and weightlifting, the agency said without disclosing details.
Radio Free Asia, a US-based media outlet, reported earlier that North Korea would send at least 36 athletes to Rio, but its delegation could grow as Olympic qualification was underway in boxing and some other sports.
North Korea had 51 athletes in 10 sports at the 2012 London Olympics, and picked up four gold and two bronze medals. Three of the four gold medals came from weightlifting.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
