Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou this weekend and will welcome foreign guests, including Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
Other leaders and top officials from participating countries set to attend Saturday's ceremony also include South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck Soo and Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, a North Korean delegation led by sports minister Kim Il Guk left Pyongyang on Tuesday to take part in the games, which will run through Oct. 8, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
Pyongyang has 191 athletes signed up to compete in a range of sporting events, including volleyball, karate and weightlifting. On Tuesday, North Korea defeated Taiwan in a men's football match.
North Korea's participation in the Asian Games comes as the country recently eased its strict COVID-19 border controls that had been in place since early 2020.
In August, Pyongyang sent athletes to Kazakhstan for an international taekwondo event, marking the first time the country dispatched a domestic sports team overseas since closing its borders.
