North Korea has won 41 gold medals in shooting at past Asian Games

A seat reserved for a North Korean competitor sits empty at the women's 10-meter air rifle individual event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Range on Monday. [Yonhap]
A seat reserved for a North Korean competitor sits empty at the women's 10-meter air rifle individual event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Range on Monday. [Yonhap]

North Korea, long regarded as a powerhouse in shooting, has yet to win a single medal in the sport at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

The North sent six shooters — three men and three women — to the Games and has competed in multiple events, including the men's and women's 10-meter air pistol individual, team and mixed competitions, but has come away empty-handed as of Sunday.

Concerns about operational problems within the team surfaced early in the Games after North Korea failed to field all three of its female athletes in the women's 10-meter air rifle individual event.

Speculation also arose that the delegation may have encountered difficulties procuring firearms and live ammunition needed for competition and training.

The fact that athletes competed without apparent issue in later events suggests the problems were resolved, though outside factors may have contributed to the team's below-expectations performance to some degree.

Shooting is North Korea's most decorated sport at the Asian Games, with 41 gold medals — more than in any other discipline.

The country has long nurtured shooting as a strategic priority through state policy.

At the 1972 Munich Olympics, Ri Ho-jun set Olympic and world records by scoring 599 out of 600 points in the small-bore rifle prone event. Three years later, he claimed six titles — including the air rifle gold — at the 1975 Asian Shooting Championships in Malaysia.

Seo Gil-san then cemented North Korea's reputation as a shooting powerhouse at the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games, sweeping the free pistol and air pistol individual and team gold medals to claim a remarkable seven titles.

After a quieter stretch, North Korea won three team gold medals at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games, and Park Myong-won claimed two golds at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and one at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, keeping shooting firmly in the role of the country's most reliable medal sport.

At the Hangzhou Games three years ago, North Korea's shooters delivered three silver medals and a bronze alongside the delegation's first gold of those Games, but the team has yet to register a medal at the current competition.

North Korea's shooting squad will next compete for a medal in the women's 25-meter rapid-fire pistol event on Monday.


greg@heraldcorp.com