North Korea Taekwondo Team At International Event In Post-Pandemic First
North Korea has sent athletes to a taekwondo competition in Kazakhstan, a photo from organisers showed Saturday, the first time in years that Pyongyang has allowed a delegation to travel overseas. The country has been under a rigid self-imposed Covid-19 blockade since early 2020 but there are increasing signs Pyongyang may be becoming more flexible on border controls, experts say. At least five North Korean athletes, wearing white uniforms with the country's red and blue star flag on the front, were shown at the International Taekwondo Federation's 2023 competition in Astana, according to a photograph shared on the event's official Facebook page. The Yonhap and Kyodo news agencies had earlier reported that a group of people, believed to be North Korean athletes, had crossed the land border from the isolated country into China Wednesday, before travelling on to Beijing, and flying on to Kazakhstan.
