Tokyo Olympics: IOC looking at redistributing slots held for North Korea

An IOC official speaking at a press conference explained the need to finalize the allocation of slots to ensure fairness as there are athletes waiting for information about participating in the games, reported Kyodo News.

Tokyo: With the Tokyo Olympics round the corner, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is looking at redistributing the slots that were held for North Korea.

An IOC official speaking at a press conference explained the need to finalize the allocation of slots to ensure fairness as there are athletes waiting for information about participating in the games, reported Kyodo News.

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Even though North Korea’s Olympic committee is yet to make any official communication to the IOC on the decision to miss the Games, North Korea’s sports ministry had said in April that Pyongyang would not participate in the Summer Games to protect its athletes from the novel coronavirus. The last time they skipped the Olympics was in 1988.

Meanwhile, overseas media personnel will be strictly monitored after entering Japan for the Olympic Games to ensure they have no contact with the public, Tokyo Olympic chief Seiko Hashimoto has said.

Hashimoto told an executive board meeting in the opening remarks that Japan is still in a “very difficult situation,” and “to make sure that people don’t go to places other than the places where they are registered to go, we will use GPS to strictly manage their behavior.”

Media arriving from abroad need to submit pre-determined destinations during the games and with the use of GPS, they can be tracked by organisers to ensure they are isolated during the first 14 days after arrival.

“If any violations are found, measures like suspension or deprivation of accreditation or deportation proceedings will be applied,” Toshiro Muto, the Tokyo 2020 CEO, told reporters after the executive board meeting.

“After 14 days, they can engage in normal media coverage,” Muto said. “Considering the current situation, that is tolerable.”