North Korean athletes participating in the upcoming Incheon Asian Games arrived in Korea yesterday evening.

Departing from Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, they landed at Incheon International Airport approximately one hour later, via a direct route over the Yellow Sea.

The group of athletes represents 94 of the 273-member team. They include Jang Su-myong, a North Korean Olympic Committee representative, as well as board members, referees, a medical team and journalists. The North Korean team is expected to have 150 athletes participate in some 14 sports among the 36 sports featured in this year's Asian Games. Starting with the first group of athletes who arrived yesterday, the rest are expected to arrive in five waves: 87 of them will arrive on the 16th, 33 on the 19th, 41 on the 22th and the final seven on the 28th. The final members of the North Korean squad will be arriving from Switzerland, Japan and elsewhere.

North Korean athletes participating in the Incheon Asian Games wave to the media upon boarding a bus after landing at Incheon International Airport in the late afternoon of September 11.

Members of the 'North and South joint cheering squad' wave the flag of the Korean Peninsula as the North Korean athletes arrive at Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of September 11.

The North Korean team will return to Pyongyang in two groups, depending on the games' schedule, on the 28th and the 5th of next month, via the same route.

By Wi Tack-whan, Paik Hyun
Korea.net Staff Writers
whan23@korea.kr
photos: Yonhap News