North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

(officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 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 The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

in Los Angeles, when they joined the Soviet boycott, and subsequently, led a boycott at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

in Seoul, along with six other nations.

Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea The Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (; IOC code: PRK) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) representing North Korea (competing either as DPR Korea or as the country's full official name, the Democratic People's R ...

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 Pak Song-chol or Park Sung-chul (2 September 1913 – 28 October 2008) was a North Korean politician who served as Premier of North Korea from 1976 to 1977. He succeeded Kim Il. He also served as foreign minister from 1959 to 1970. Biogra ...

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 } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. 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

, width="78%" align="left" valign="top" , , width="22%" align="left" valign="top" ,

Archery

Athletics

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): ;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 ;Women

Boxing

North Korea has qualified boxers for the following events. ;Men ;Women

Diving

North Korea has qualified in the following events. ;Men ;Women

Football

North Korea is qualified for the women's event * Women's team event – 1 team of 18 players

Women's tournament

;Team roster ;Group play † Game delayed by one hour due to North Korean protest after erroneous use of South Korean flag for North Korea.

Judo

Shooting

The following quota place has been qualified for the North Korean shooting squad at the Games; ;Women

Synchronized swimming

North Korea has qualified 2 quota places in synchronized swimming.

Table tennis

North Korea has qualified 6 quotas athlete for singles

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

events. ;Men ;Women

Weightlifting

North Korea has qualified 5 men and 3 women. ;Men * Kim Myong-hyok originally finished fourth, but in June 2021, he was promoted to bronze due to the disqualification of

Răzvan Martin Răzvan Constantin Martin (; born 22 December 1991) is a Romanian weightlifter. He competed at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 2012. On 25 November 2020, the reanalysed doping tests from the 2012 Summer Olympics turned out ...

. ;Women

Wrestling

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 ;Men's Greco-Roman ;Women's freestyle

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North Korea At The 2012 Summer Olympics Nations at the 2012 Summer Olympics

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Summer Olympics