North Korea, once considered a shooting powerhouse, is suffering the humiliation of failing to win a single medal in shooting at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Having dispatched a total of six athletes—three men and three women—to this year's shooting events, North Korea has competed in various detailed events, including the men's and women's 10-meter air pistol individual, team, and mixed categories as of today (September 27), but has yet to secure a single medal.

Early in the competition, North Korea failed to field all three of its female athletes in the women's 10-meter air rifle individual event, prompting speculation both inside and outside the team about potential disruptions in operational management.

There were also suggestions that North Korea may have experienced difficulties in procuring the firearms and ammunition necessary for competition and training.

Given that athletes competed without issues from the middle phase onward, it is presumed that the problem was resolved, but external factors appear to have played some role in the sub-par performance.

Shooting is a signature sport that has brought North Korea the most gold medals (41) of any discipline in its Asian Games history.

In North Korea, shooting has long been a strategic sport fostered through state policies.

At the 1972 Munich Olympics, Ri Ho-jun scored 599 points (out of a possible 600) in the small-bore rifle prone event to set Olympic and world records, and three years later at the 1975 Asian Championships in Malaysia, he won six gold medals, including the air rifle.

Later, Seo Gil-san built the nation's reputation as a shooting powerhouse by setting a massive record of winning seven gold medals at the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games, sweeping the individual and team titles in free pistol and air pistol.

Although it went without notable results for a period afterward, shooting has continued to serve as a reliable medal event at the Asian Games, with North Korea winning three team gold medals at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games, and Park Myung-won capturing two and one gold medals at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games in China and the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games in Indonesia, respectively.

Even at the Hangzhou Games three years ago, the team performed well with three silver medals and one bronze medal, including the delegation's first gold medal, but no news of medals has been heard at this tournament yet.

Choson Sinbo, the organ of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) reporting on the North Korean delegation's schedule for this event, lists the women's 25-meter pistol rapid fire event on September 28 as the final schedule for the North Korean shooting team.

According to this schedule, it is expected to be the North Korean shooting team's last bid for a medal.

(Photo: Yonhap News)