North Korea's Marathon Attracts 1,000 Foreigners Amid High Tensions

PYONGYANG, JAPAN - APR. 10: About 1,000 foreigners, mostly tourists, participated in an annual marathon in North Korea on Sunday, amid months of rising tensions over its aggressive pursuit of nuclear weapons. Despite being even more closed off from the international community following new sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United Nations, the turnout of foreign amateur runners from about 40 countries for the Pyongyang marathon was an all-time high, well above the approximately 650 last year. The record was marked as strong advisories have also been put in place against traveling to North Korea for many nationalities -- already before the U.N. Security Council's approval last month of punitive measures for Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and a rocket launch using banned ballistic missile technology a month later. The runners from countries including Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan and the United States competed in the race, which was divided into the full 42.195-kilometer marathon, a half marathon and a 10-km run. Of the participants, the oldest was an 80-year-old Japanese man. They started from the May Day Stadium, the world's largest soccer stadium with a seating capacity of 150,000, and ran the streets of the capital without being accompanied by North Korean guides, something that does not normally happen in this country. Two years ago, North Korea for the first time allowed foreign tourists to compete in the Mangyongdae Prize Marathon, which has been categorized as a bronze-label race by the International Association of Athletic Federations. The marathon was part of events celebrating the birth anniversary of North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung, known by locals as the Day of the Sun, which this year falls on coming Friday.
PYONGYANG, JAPAN - APR. 10: About 1,000 foreigners, mostly tourists, participated in an annual marathon in North Korea on Sunday, amid months of rising tensions over its aggressive pursuit of nuclear weapons. Despite being even more closed off from the international community following new sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United Nations, the turnout of foreign amateur runners from about 40 countries for the Pyongyang marathon was an all-time high, well above the approximately 650 last year. The record was marked as strong advisories have also been put in place against traveling to North Korea for many nationalities -- already before the U.N. Security Council's approval last month of punitive measures for Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and a rocket launch using banned ballistic missile technology a month later. The runners from countries including Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan and the United States competed in the race, which was divided into the full 42.195-kilometer marathon, a half marathon and a 10-km run. Of the participants, the oldest was an 80-year-old Japanese man. They started from the May Day Stadium, the world's largest soccer stadium with a seating capacity of 150,000, and ran the streets of the capital without being accompanied by North Korean guides, something that does not normally happen in this country. Two years ago, North Korea for the first time allowed foreign tourists to compete in the Mangyongdae Prize Marathon, which has been categorized as a bronze-label race by the International Association of Athletic Federations. The marathon was part of events celebrating the birth anniversary of North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung, known by locals as the Day of the Sun, which this year falls on coming Friday.
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Redaktionell #:
520722754
Kollektion:
Kyodo News
Erstellt am:
10. April 2016
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00:02:06:09
Ort:
Pyongyang, Pyongyang, North Korea
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Kyodo News
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16-04-10-3-1.mov