North Korea players leave to take part in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, at the Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang on July 20. AP-Yonhap

North Korean athletes headed to France for the Paris Olympics, Saturday, as the communist country has decided to send its delegation to the international competition for the first time in eight years, according to a foreign media report.

Dressed in white jackets, North Korean athletes and officials left for Paris at Pyongyang airport earlier in the day, according to AP.

Pyongyang did not send a squad to the Tokyo Olympics while its borders remained closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Olympic Committee penalized Pyongyang for its no-show, and the North accordingly failed to go to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The North's culture minister, Kim Il-guk, was also spotted at the airport, though it was not clear if he was going to Paris for the event, the report said, adding that the athletes and officials did not answer questions from media.

It is not known how many athletes and officials will attend the upcoming event, but a website of the Paris Olympics organizing committee showed that about 16 North Korean athletes are expected to compete in around seven Olympic disciplines, including wrestling, table tennis, boxing, and gymnastics. (Yonhap)