North Korea marches in smiling at Asian Games with 107-strong squad

North Korea's delegation arrived at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with broad smiles.

The team entered eighth among 46 delegations at the ceremony held Saturday at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, led by flag bearers Hwang Hyo-sun of women's boxing and U Tae-ryong of men's table tennis. North Korea has sent 107 athletes across 14 sports, with medal hopes centered on its traditional strengths — weightlifting, wrestling, boxing and shooting.

Hwang, 27, and U, 26, led the delegation at the front of the procession. Dressed in team uniforms of dark blue trousers and white jackets, the athletes waved North Korean flags, smiled and greeted the crowd.

After crossing the central stage, the delegation followed their escort to their seats. North Korea was seated next to Iran — some distance from the South Korean delegation, which entered 16th.

Some members of the North Korean delegation used what appeared to be smartphones to take photos of one another and strike poses, soaking in the atmosphere of Asia's biggest sporting festival.

Others were spotted filming the ceremony on their own phones. North Korea's 107-strong contingent spans 14 sports and includes Ri Song-a in football and Jong Se-ri in karate, both ethnic Koreans from Japan.

The squad is smaller than the 191 athletes North Korea registered across 18 sports at the previous Hangzhou Games, but the country appears to be targeting stronger results by sending elite competitors in its traditionally dominant disciplines — weightlifting, wrestling, boxing and shooting.

Measured against events held in Japan, the overall delegation size surpasses the roughly 130-strong contingent North Korea sent to the 1985 Kobe Universiade, making it the largest the country has ever fielded at a Japan-hosted multi-sport event.