The North Korean national ice hockey team ( ko, 조선민주주의인민공화국 아이스하키 국가대표팀) is the national men's
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
IIHF
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 m ...
competition. They withdrew from the 2007 World Championships, and therefore were automatically relegated to Division III in the 2008 edition, where they finished first. They then played in Division II during the 2009 edition, and finished last bringing them back down to Division III for 2010. They are currently ranked 41st in the
IIHF World Ranking
The IIHF World Ranking is a ranking of the performance of the national ice hockey teams of member countries of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It is based on a formula giving points for each team's placings at IIHF-sanctioned tour ...
s.
History
The game of ice hockey in North Korea became popular during the 1950s when Soviet and Chinese workers taught the game and its rules in the capital city of Pyongyang. The Ice Hockey Association of North Korea was founded in 1955. North Korea became a member of the IIHF on 8 August 1964. North Korea's first national championship was held in 1956 and was won by Amnokgang Pyongyang. The North Korean national team did not make its debut until 1974 when it competed in the C pool of the World Championships. The team lost its first game to Italy 11–2 on 8 March 1974, but rebounded for a surprising victory over China.
Withdrawal from 2011 IIHF tournaments
DPR Korea announced that their women's and men's teams were not going to compete in IIHF competition due to financial reasons. The men's team was scheduled to participate at the Div II championships in Melbourne, Australia, while the women's team was scheduled to participate at the Div II championship in
Caen, France
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,1974 – 22nd place (8th in Pool C)
*
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
– 23rd place (7th in Pool C)
*
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
– 24th place (8th in Pool C)
*
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
– 23rd place (7th in Pool C)
* 1986 – 23rd place (7th in Pool C)
*
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
– 22nd place (6th in Pool C)
*
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
– 22nd place (6th in Pool C)
* 1990 – 21st place (5th in Pool C)
*
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
– 23rd place (7th in Pool C)
* 1992 – 22nd place (2nd in Pool C, Group A)
*
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
– 26th place (6th in Pool C)
* 2002 – 41st place (1st in Division II qualification)
* 2003 – 35th place (4th in Division II, Group B)
* 2004 – 34th place (3rd in Division II, Group B)
* 2005 – 34th place (3rd in Division II, Group B)
* 2006 – 36th place (4th in Division II, Group B)
* 2007 – Withdrew from tournament, relegated to Division III
* 2008 – 41st place (1st in Division III) Promoted to Division II
* 2009 – 39th place (6th in Division II, Group A) Relegated to Division III
* 2010 – 42nd place (1st in Division III, Group B) Promoted to Division II
* 2011 – Withdrew from Division II
*
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 ...
– 42nd place (2nd in Division III)
*
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
– 42nd place (2nd in Division III)
*
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
– 42nd place (2nd in Division III)
* 2015 – 41st place (1st in Division III) Promoted to Division II B
*
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
– 39th place (5th in Division II B)
*
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
– 38th place (4th in Division II B)
*
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
– 38th place (4th in Division II B)
*
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
– 40th place (6th in Division II, Group B) Relegated to Division III A
*
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
– Cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
*
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
– Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
*
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
– Withdrawn due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Asian Winter Games
* 1986 – 4th place
* 1990 – 4th place
* 2007 – 5th place