North Korea is dispatching a total of five judo athletes to the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

North Korea has recently registered five athletes in the tournament entry system: An Sin-hyeok (world No. 108) in the men's 60kg division, No Seok-beom (No. 154) in the men's 73kg division, Kim Hyun-a (No. 37) in the women's 57kg division, Kim Ji-hye (No. 29) in the women's 63kg division, and Mun Song-hui (No. 42) in the women's 70kg division.

An official from the domestic judo community stated, "It appears that North Korea is aiming for three medals in the women's events," adding, "All three athletes possess skills strong enough to be considered favorites for the title."

The official continued, "Kim Hyun-a, Kim Ji-hye, and Mun Song-hui have lower world rankings relative to their actual skills because they have not competed in many international tournaments," evaluating that, "They are all athletes who can realistically set their sights on the gold medal."

Kim Hyun-a won a bronze medal at the Qingdao Grand Prix held in September last year, and claimed victory at the 2026 Asian Judo Championships held in April this year.

At the Asian Championships, she defeated Japan's rising talent Komiyama Mina by default in the semifinals, and overcame Terbish Ariunzaya (Mongolia) by a waza-ari after a golden score (overtime) battle in the final.

South Korea will be represented in this weight class by Huh Mi-mi (Gyeongbuk Sports Council), a star athlete and silver medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Jeong Seong-suk, head coach of the South Korean women's judo national team, stated, "Kim Hyun-a is an athlete with great physical strength," and added, "Based on the tournament bracket determined by world rankings, there is a possibility she could meet Huh Mi-mi in the final."

Kim Ji-hye is also evaluated as an athlete capable of contending for a medal.

She has delivered strong results in every competition she has entered, including winning a bronze medal at the 2025 Asian Championships and a silver medal at the 2026 Asian Championships.

Notably, in the final of this year's Asian Championships, she engaged in a fierce battle that went all the way to a golden score (overtime) against world No. 2 Lkhagvatogoogiin Enkhriulen (Mongolia).

Although she lost by Hansoku-make (disqualification) after receiving three shidos (penalties), she demonstrated a level of performance on par with a world-class athlete.

Mun Song-hui is a silver medalist from the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and captured the title at this year's Asian Championships.

She also participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics as the sole representative for North Korea in the sport.

However, she suffered disappointment by being eliminated in the first round.

North Korea's male athletes have less promising medal prospects compared to their female counterparts.

No Seok-beom finished seventh at the 2026 Asian Championships, while An Sin-hyeok has not achieved any notable results in international competitions.

The judo events at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will take place from the 30th to October 3rd at the Aichi International Arena in Japan.

(Photo: Yonhap News)