North Korea became the first country to opt out of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, over COVID-19 concerns.
According to state-run Sports in the DPRK Korea, the decision was made during North Korea's general assembly meeting of its Olympic Committee held in Pyongyang on March 25th.
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"At the general assembly, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea decided not to participate in the 32nd Olympic Games to protect our athletes from the global health crisis situation related to the coronavirus as proposed by committee members," the website said.
To date, Japan recorded more than 485,000 total cases with 9210 deaths and a seven-day average of 2411 daily cases.
Despite that, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach reassured last November that the Tokyo Olympics would go on as planned this July.
At the previous Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the North Korea contingent took home two gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
A majority of their all-time Olympic medal tally came from weighlifting and wrestling events.
