LAUSANNE: North Korea will no longer host the Junior World Judo Championships due to security concerns, the Inter­national Judo Federa­tion (IJF) said on Thursday.

Pyongyang had been due to host the event in October but that has now been switched to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.

The IJF said the move had been forced because of the “alarming” situation the reclusive communist nation finds itself in on the international stage with tensions growing in particular with the United States, which has sent a missile defence system to South Korea amid concerns about the North’s nuclear ambitions.

“There are some outstanding issues like air accessibility of Pyon­gyang, safety and security of participants and their belongings, communications with the outside world, possibility of live streaming etc,” said the IJF, which had held meetings with the North Korean sports ministry.

“One of the conditions that was always reminded during the preparation phase, was a stable international situation of the country. At present, this situation is alarming, and the outcomes are difficult to predict.”

The IJF added that several national federations and individuals had “declined participation”, “expressed concern” and said they were “worried about this event”.

The tournament will still go ahead on October 18-22.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2017