North Korea asked South Korean official to lend boats ahead of Asian Games

North Korea's Olympic Committee reached out directly to a South Korean official to borrow competition boats ahead of the canoe events at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, according to sources.

According to Yonhap, a North Korean Olympic Committee official recently sent an email in English to Kim Eun-seok, secretary-general of the Korea Canoe Federation who also serves as secretary-general of the Asian Canoe Federation, asking to borrow two boats for canoe sprint events.

Countries competing in canoe events at the Asian Games typically rent equipment through the local organizing committee to avoid the hassle of transporting boats. North Korea, however, contacted Kim directly rather than going through official organizing committee channels. As a member of the Asian Canoe Federation, North Korea had been paying membership dues and was aware of Kim's South Korean nationality. Analysts say the outreach reflects ties the two Koreas' canoe communities built on the international stage.

Kim led the formation of the inter-Korean unified canoe team on the ground at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. That team won gold in the women's 500-meter dragon boat event — the first time a unified Korean team had claimed a gold medal at an international multi-sport competition. North Korean women's athletes Cha Eun-young and Jeong Ye-seong, both registered for this year's Games, were key members of that gold-medal squad.

North Korea is also competing in a summer Asian Games held in Japan for the first time, a factor analysts cite as background. North Korea either did not participate or was ineligible to send a delegation to the 1958 Tokyo and 1994 Hiroshima games. With no established communication channel to the local organizing committee, Pyongyang turned to a past connection to resolve the practical matter.

However, South Korean law prohibits unauthorized contact with North Korean nationals, so Kim did not reply directly. Instead, acting in his capacity as a senior Asian Canoe Federation official, he forwarded North Korea's request to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games organizing committee. The organizing committee accepted the request and agreed to lend North Korea two Plastex sprint canoes.