North Korea held its first Pyongyang International Marathon in six years.
More than 500 participants, including more than 200 international runners from over 40 countries, participated in the April 6 race, the country’s first since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, according to CBS.
Runners from the United States, South Korea and Malaysia were reportedly not allowed to join in, due those countries’ tensions with North Korea, according to NK News.
The Pyongyang International Marathon was one of the events held in honor of the birthday of the grandfather of Kim Jung Un, Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s founder, which falls on April 15.
Its opening ceremony was held at Kim Il Sung Stadium, where more than 50,000 people cheered the amateur runners on.
Its course ran through the landmark of central Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital city, and into the countryside and back to the stadium.
Participants were able to run a 5k, 10k, 21k or a full marathon.
In the full marathon category, Pak Kum Dong of Korea took the men’s title, running the 26.2 miles in an impressive two hours, 12 minutes and eight seconds, according to a press release.
In the women’s race, Jon Su Gyong of Korea landed in first, completing the course in two hours, 25 minutes and 48 seconds.
In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, North Korea closed its borders and has been slowly reopening since 2023.
