- North Korea announced that it's sending a delegation of athletes to the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea next month.
- So far, only two North Korean athletes have qualified for the games: Figure skating duo Ryom Tae Ok and Kim Ju Sik.
- They placed 15th at last year's World Figure Skating Championships and aren't expected to medal in PyeongChang.
- It's still unknown if other North Korean athletes will compete in the games.
On Monday, North Korea announced that it will send a team of athletes the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea next month.
It's still unclear exactly how many or which athletes the country will send to the Winter Games. But the New York Times reports that — as of right now — only two athletes have actually qualified: figure skating pair Ryom Tae Ok and Kim Ju Sik.
The pair missed the October 2017 deadline to register for the Olympics, but on Monday the International Olympic Committee announced that it would extend the application deadline to an unspecified date, allowing for North Korean athletes to enter, CNN reported.
Ryom, 18, and Kim, 25, were both born in Pyongyang and train for 36 hours a week, according to their International Skating Union bios.
Last year, they approached Canadian skating coach Bruno Marcotte and asked him to train them. Marcotte said yes, and the pair spent two months in Montreal working with him, according to Reuters.
"I felt that there was a team with a potential but like a rough diamond — rough, but one that could be so good eventually," Marcotte told Reuters. "Their ultimate dream is to become world champions."
In early 2017, USA Today reported that the pair won North Korea's first medal — a bronze — in the Asian Winter Games. A month later, they placed 15th in a field of 28 pairs at the World Figure Skating Championships. In September, they qualified for the Olympics after earning a career-high score at Nebelhorn Trophy competition in Obertsdorf, Germany, according to the New York Times.
Here's the pair skating to music from "The Nutcracker"at the world championships:
North Korea has participated intermittently in the Winter Olympics, and to date, the country has only won two medals at the Winter games: A silver in 1964 and a bronze in 1992, both for speed skating events, The New York Times reports. The Times also notes that Ryom and Kim aren't likely to add to that total.
But they (and any other North Korean athletes who may compete) will not lack a fan base in the stands: The country is also sending its patriotic, highly vetted all-female cheer squad to the games.
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