N. Koreans Quit Japan Tourney Over Party Flap

NIIGATA, Japan — North Korea withdrew from the 9th Asian Table Tennis Championship today to protest the Japanese government’s expulsion of the team from a reception being held in its honor, the team leader said.

“We came to Japan to compete in the championship with good will, but the Japanese government forced us to withdraw,” Li Jong Ho, vice director of the (North) Korean Athletes Instructors Committee, told a news conference.

“It was a challenge against us. We are returning home immediately,” he said.

The Justice Ministry ordered the 18-member North Korean delegation to leave a reception being held in its honor Thursday. The government said the team’s attendance at the event, sponsored in part by the pro-Pyongyang General Assn. of Korean Residents in Japan, violated the conditions under which team members were allowed to enter Japan.

Tokyo has no diplomatic relations with the Communist government in Pyongyang. It imposed sanctions, including restrictions on diplomatic contacts and the entry of North Koreans into Japan, after Pyongyang’s alleged bombing of a South Korean airliner with 115 people aboard last November.

North Korea has denied involvement in the plane’s disappearance.

At the press conference, Li also complained of harassment by Japanese right-wing groups. “The rightists surrounded buses taking us to the tournament and used dirty words,” Li said. “They hit the window glass on the bus, but no one was hurt.”

“The Japanese government is not eligible to hold an international sports event,” he added.