South Korea regrets Olympic opening ceremony blunder

South Korean athletes wave to the crowd as their boat passes on the Seine River during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. (AP Photo)

SEOUL: South Korea has expressed regret that its athletic delegation at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday was portrayed as rivals to North Korea and demanded organizers ensure the mistake will not be repeated.

As the boat carrying the South Korean athletes passed along the Seine, the announcer introduced them as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” – the official name of North Korea – in French and English.

The announcer used the same introduction when the North Korean delegation passed by.

South Korean Vice Minister of Sports and Culture Jang Mi-ran, who is in Paris, has requested a meeting with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, the ministry said in a statement.

“We regret that the country was presented as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics while athletes from the Republic of Korea were competing,” he said.

The South Korean National Olympic Committee immediately reported the incident to Games organizers and demanded that the mistake not be repeated.

South Korea’s delegation has 143 athletes competing in 21 events. North Korea, returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes.