Paris Olympics blunder sparks outrage as organisers introduce South Korean team as NORTH Korea in opening ceremony gaffe

OLYMPIC organisers scrambled to issue an apology after South Korea was wrongly introduced as North Korea in the opening ceremony.

As the rain-soaked South Korean athletes waved the flag of their country, the announcers presented them as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”.

EPA

South Korean team was mistakenly introduced as North Korea during the opening ceremony in Paris[/caption]

Rex

143 athletes from South Korea floated down the Seine ahead of the Olympics[/caption]

Reuters

North Korea sent 16 athletes to the first games since Rio in 2016[/caption]

AFP

The official name of North Korea was mistakenly used by both French and English announcers while the South Korean team sailed down the River Seine in Paris.

Then, as North Korea’s delegation floated by, the presenters used the same name— this time, correctly.

However, the accurate title was displayed for South Korea in the subtitle that appeared at the bottom of the TV telecast.

The South Korean sports ministry vowed to lodge “a strong complaint with France on a government level” over the embarrassing blunder.

The ministry’s statement expressed “regret over the announcement where the South Korean delegation was introduced as the North Korean team”.

Second vice sports minister Jang Mi-ran, a 2008 Olympic weightlifting champion, has requested a meeting with IOC head Thomas Bach, the statement added.

The sports ministry also urged the foreign ministry to “send a strong protest to the French side” on the matter.

The International Olympic Committee has issued an apology this morning for the humiliating gaffe.

In a post on its official Korean-language X account, the IOC said: “We deeply apologise for the mistake that occurred when introducing the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony.”

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have recently risen to their highest point in years – with Kim accelerating his weapons testing and South strengthening their joint war drills with the US.

In a bizarre intimidation move, Pyongyang has also floated more than 2,000 balloons to drop waste and even manure on South Korea.

In response, Seoul blasted K-Pop songs and frontline propaganda broadcasts, including news on BTS member Jin torch-bearing at the Paris Olympics.

Pyongyang’s isolated government is also forging closer ties with Moscow as it attempts to solidify its position in the growing anti-Western axis of evil.

This year, 143 athletes from South Korea, formerly known as the Republic of Korea, will compete in 21 different sports for their Olympic team.

North Korea is participating in the games for the first time since Rio 2016 with a delegation of 16 athletes.

More than a billion people worldwide tuned into the four-hour, £120million extravaganza, which was closed by iconic singer Celine Dion.

But the opening ceremony has seen a number of mishaps from downpours to arson attacks on the France’s railways earlier in the day.

At one stage, the Olympic flag was hoisted up the poll upside down.

Lady Gaga‘s performance in French was marred by a major tech blunder, leaving viewers at home unable to hear the vocal powerhouse properly.

One of the singer’s poor dancer also suffered a shock fall from the stage as heavy rain poured down.

There was another disaster in Paris as the deluge caused one of the big screens broadcasting the opening ceremony to cut out.

In a different blunder, a Eurosports commentator confused Serena William’s husband and Reddit co-founder for “personal umbrella holder”.

AFP

North Korea’s delegation sails on a boat during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris[/caption]