US boycott of Beijing insult to Olympic spirits: N. Korea
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North Korea criticized the US-led boycott of the Beijing Olympics via a letter to China.
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North Korea had been suspended from participating in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
North Korea has condemned the US call to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics, which will take place in the Chinese capital in February of this year.
Pyongyang described the Washington-led diplomatic boycott of the 2022 winter games as an insult to the Olympic spirit.
The United States and several allies have announced a diplomatic boycott of China's Olympics, claiming "human rights violations".
The North Korean Olympic and sports bodies have slammed the decision in a letter to their Chinese counterparts, KCNA reported.
"The US and its vassal forces are getting ever more undisguised in their moves against China aimed at preventing the successful opening of the Olympics," the letter said.
Their moves are "an insult to the spirit of the international Olympic Charter," North Korea added.
Pyongyang did not participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic, which had been delayed due to the pandemic, over COVID-19 fears.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) punished North Korea's precautionary measure, suspending the country, meaning it will not be able to participate in the upcoming Olympics in Beijing.
North Korea underscores that its absence from the Olympics is the result of the pandemic and hostile forces, not specifying who said forced were.
The Chinese foreign ministry said Friday the North Korean Absence was over "special reasons," while assuring that it fully understood the issue.
China's ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui, said the US was doomed to fail in its endeavors to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Russia also criticized the decision, as Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "the Olympic Games should be free of politics."
