Olympics offers ‘deep apology’ as South Korea introduced as North Korea at opening ceremony

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has apologised after the South Korea team were introduced as from North Korea at the opening ceremony on Friday night.

The opening ceremony took place on the River Seine as athletes were paraded on boats, but the vessel carrying the South Korea delegation was introduced by an announcer as the"Democratic People’s Republic of Korea" - the official name of North Korea in English.

According to Reuters, the announcer then used the same introduced when the North Korea team passed by.

On Twitter/X, the IOC offered "a deep apology" on its Korean language handle and said it was a mistake.

But South Korea demanded assurances that mistake will not happen against at Paris 2024, and requested a meeting with IOC president Thomas Bach.

Bach will also speak with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to offer an apology, South Korea’s vice sports minister said in Paris.

"We express regret that the country was introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games when the athletes of the Republic of Korea were entering," a statement from the South Korea team said.

North Korea has sent athletes to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, fielding a team of 16. South Korea’s team includes 143 athletes across 21 events.

The Olympic flag was also raised upside down in an embarrassing moment at the very start of Paris 2024, following a spectacular, rain-soaked opening ceremony on the Seine.

Images of the Olympic flag appeared to show that the five coloured rings of the iconic emblem were in the wrong positions and had been hoisted incorrectly.

The opening ceremony was a three-and-a-half hour spectacle on the River Seine, which saw 85 boats carry almost 7,000 athletes from 205 countries.