NAGOYA, Japan -- North Korea's sports minister and chef de mission for its delegation at this year's Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games arrived in Japan on Thursday, two days ahead of the official opening.
Kim Il-guk, who also serves as president of the Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), left Pyongyang on Tuesday and arrived at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Nagoya via China two days later.
The DPRK is North Korea's official name.
Kim was accompanied by several officials and left the airport without speaking to reporters.
Officials from the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, also known as Chongryon, representing pro-North Korea residents in Japan, and other North Korean residents in Japan welcomed Kim's arrival.
It is the first time in eight years that a North Korean ministerial-level government official has visited Japan. Kim was the last North Korean minister to visit Japan, traveling to Tokyo in 2018 for a general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).
Kim came to Japan as head of the North Korean Olympic committee, according to a Chongryon official.
Japan prohibits North Korean nationals from entering its territory as part of its sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear program but temporarily lifted the ban for the Asian Games, which officially kick off Saturday for a 16-day run.
Recent media reports said North Korea will send a 188-member delegation, including 107 athletes competing in 14 sports, to the quadrennial multisport event, with the country aiming to win gold medals in weightlifting, wrestling and boxing.
The men's and women's football teams have already arrived in Japan and played preliminary matches.
However, the arrival schedules for other teams have not yet been disclosed.
