North Korea at the 2012 Summer Olympics explained

Noc:	PRK
Nocname:	Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Games:	Summer Olympics
Year:	2012
Location:	London
Competitors:	51
Sports:	10
Flagbearer:	Pak Song-chol (opening) Ri Jong-myong (closing)
Rank:	20
Gold:	4
Silver:	0
Bronze:	3
Appearances:	auto

North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's ninth appearance at the Olympics since its debut in 1972. North Korean athletes did not attend the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, when they joined the Soviet boycott, and subsequently, led a boycott at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, along with six other nations.

Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea sent the nation's third largest delegation ever to the Games. A total of 51 athletes, 15 men and 36 women, competed in 10 sports. Women's football was the only team-based sport in which North Korea was represented at these Olympic games. There was only a single competitor in archery, judo, and shooting. Marathon runner Pak Song-chol became the first track and field athlete to carry the North Korean flag at the opening ceremony. For the first time since its Olympic return in 1992, North Korea did not qualify athletes in gymnastics.

North Korea left London with a total of 7 medals (4 gold and 3 bronze), beating its record from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Along with the 1992 Summer Olympics, this was also the nation's most successful Olympics for the number of gold medals received at a single games. All of these medals were awarded to the team in judo, weightlifting, and wrestling.

Medalists

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Medals by sport
Sport	bgcolor=#f7f6a8		bgcolor=#dce5e5		bgcolor=#ffdab9	Total
Weightlifting	3	0	2	5
Judo	1	0	0	1
Wrestling	0	0	1	1
Total	4	0	3	7

Archery

See main article: Archery at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Athletics

See main article: Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics. North Korean athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard):^[1]

Key

Note – Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
Q = Qualified for the next round
q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
NR = National record
N/A = Round not applicable for the event
Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Men

Athlete	Event	Final
Athlete	Event	Result	Rank
Kim Kwang-hyok	align=left rowspan=2	Marathon	2:20:20	53
Pak Song-chol	2:20:20	52

Women

Athlete	Event	Final
Athlete	Event	Result	Rank
Jon Kyong-hui	align=left rowspan=3	Marathon	2:35:17	56
Kim Kum-ok	2:33:30	49
Kim Mi-gyong	2:38:33	74

Boxing

See main article: Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics. North Korea has qualified boxers for the following events.

Men

Women

Diving

See main article: Diving at the 2012 Summer Olympics. North Korea has qualified in the following events.

Men

Women

Athlete	Event	Preliminaries		Semifinals		Final
Athlete	Event	Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Kim Jin-ok	align=left rowspan=2	10 m platform	320.10	15 Q	312.95	14	Did not advance
Kim Un-hyang	308.10	18 Q	314.40	13	Did not advance

Football

See main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics. North Korea is qualified for the women's event

Women's team event – 1 team of 18 players

Women's tournament

See main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament.

Team roster

† Game delayed by one hour due to North Korean protest after erroneous use of South Korean flag for North Korea.^[2]

Judo

See main article: Judo at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Shooting

See main article: Shooting at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The following quota place has been qualified for the North Korean shooting squad at the Games;^[3]

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
Athlete	Event	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
align=left rowspan=2	Jo Yong-suk	10 m air pistol	384	10	Did not advance
25 m pistol	583	7 Q	782.3	7

Synchronized swimming

See main article: Synchronized swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics. North Korea has qualified 2 quota places in synchronized swimming.

Table tennis

See main article: Table tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

North Korea has qualified 6 quotas athlete for singles table tennis events.^[4]

Men

Athlete	Event	Preliminary round	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final /
Athlete	Event	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Kim Hyok-bong	align=left rowspan=2	Singles	W 4–1	W 4–2	L 3–4	Did not advance
Kim Song-nam	W 4–0	L 3–4	Did not advance
Jang Song-man Kim Hyok-bong Kim Song-nam	Team	L 1–3	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Preliminary round	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final /
Athlete	Event	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Kim Jong	align=left rowspan=2	Singles	W 4–1	L 2–4	Did not advance
Ri Myong-sun	L 2–4	Did not advance
Kim Jong Ri Mi-gyong Ri Myong-sun	Team	W 3–0	L 0–3	Did not advance

Weightlifting

See main article: Weightlifting at the 2012 Summer Olympics. North Korea has qualified 5 men and 3 women.

Men

Athlete	Event	Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
Athlete	Event	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Total	Rank
Om Yun-chol	align=left rowspan=2	−56 kg	125	6	168	1	293
Sin Chol-Bom	113	12	145	9	258	8
Kim Un-guk	−62 kg	153	1	174	2	327
Kim Kum-sok	align=left rowspan=2	−69 kg	140	11	175	7	315	8
Kim Myong-hyok	145	5	184	3	329

Kim Myong-hyok originally finished fourth, but in June 2021, he was promoted to bronze due to the disqualification of Răzvan Martin.

Women

Athlete	Event	Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
Athlete	Event	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Total	Rank
Ryang Chun-hwa	−48 kg	80	5	112	2	192
Jong Chun-mi	−58 kg	101	4	130	4	231	4
Rim Jong-sim	−69 kg	115	1	146	1	261

Wrestling

See main article: Wrestling at the 2012 Summer Olympics. North Korea has qualified in the following events.

Key

- Victory by Fall.
- Decision by Points - the loser with technical points.
- Decision by Points - the loser without technical points.

Men's freestyle

Athlete	Event	Qualification	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Final /
Athlete	Event	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Yang Kyong-il	−55 kg		W 3–1	L 1–3	Did not advance		W 3–1	W 3–1
Ri Jong-myong	−60 kg		W 3–0	W 3–1	L 0–3	L 1–3	5

Men's Greco-Roman

Women's freestyle

Athlete	Event	Qualification	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Final /
Athlete	Event	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Han Kum-ok	−55 kg		L 1–3	Did not advance					10
Choe Un-gyong	−63 kg		L 1–3	Did not advance			L 1–3	Did not advance	12

Notes and References

Web site: iaaf.org – Top Lists. IAAF. 4 June 2011.
News: Borden . Sam . 25 July 2012 . Flag Error Delays Start of North Korea-Colombia Match . . 25 July 2012.
Web site: Quota places by Nation and Name . 8 March 2011 . ISSF . 27 May 2011 . 5 April 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140405211236/http://www.issf-sports.org/results/og_qualification/quota_places/quota_places_by_nation_and_name.ashx . dead .
Web site: Direct Qualifiers for 2012 London Olympic Games – Provisional list. International Table Tennis Federation. 31 May 2011. PDF. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110809193041/http://www.ittf.com/World_Events/2012OG/Players_byWR_OG2012.pdf. 9 August 2011.