The first paralympic delegation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea participated in the 2012 international Paralympics held in London from August 29, 2012.

The activities of disabled athletes in the country took a new shape and began to develop vivaciously when the DPRK Athletic Association of the Disabled Persons was organized under the official approval of the government. It started to arouse great public interest with two rounds of table-tennis games of disabled persons and their benefactors in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Thanks to the positive efforts of the Central Committee of the Korean Federation for Protection of the Disabled and the DPRK Athletic Association of the Disabled Persons, the public understanding of the persons with disabilities improved considerably, and the government gave an endorsement to the National Paralympic Committee in August 2011 in an effort to keep the sports activities of the disabled persons in step with the international trend.

The DPRK National Paralympic Committee was organized in November 2011 and sent a delegation to the 15th general assembly of the International Paralympic Committee and a relevant conference held in Beijing in December the same year. The general assembly gave a unanimous vote for the semi-membership of the Korean National Paralympic Committee and the semi-membership took effect officially on March 8, 2012.The International Paralympic Committee, the East Asian Paralympic Committee and many of the members of these committees gave hearty congratulations to the Korean committee for its admission into the International Paralympic Committee and advised that the Korean committee should participate in the international Paralympic games to be held in London in 2012. Although it was young as an organization of its kind, the Korean committee accepted the advice and conducted positive activities to join the London Paralympic Games. It officially sent a swimmer to the games along with members of the National Paralympic Committee and those related with the national sports progamme of the disabled persons. The purpose of the participation was largely to help the whole world have a correct understanding of the work to protect the disabled persons in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, broaden the views of the those related with the disabled persons’ sports as well as that of disabled athletes and, in particular, nourish great courage and self-confidence among the disabled athletes. It was also aimed at making a tie with people concerned with the disabled people’s sports—who are working for relevant national and international organizations—for mutual exchange and cooperation during the period of the games.

The DPRK National Paralympic Committee, the Korean Federation for Protection of the Disabled and the DPRK Athletic Association of the Disabled Persons highly appreciate the material and spiritual support of the International Paralympic Committee, the UK Embassy in Pyongyang, the Green Tree Charity Foundation International, the British Organization for Care of Children, the Development and Cooperation Bureau of the Swiss Foreign Ministry and other international organizations and philanthropist bodies of different countries.

The Korean organizations will further improve their partnership with these organizations in the effort to look after the disabled persons.