Athletes selected to carry the torch in North Korea

The North Korean soccer star who scored the winning goal in a World Cup match against Italy in 1966 will take part in the torch relay for the coming Beijing Olympics, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan reported.
Pak Du-ik was among the 80 runners selected for the first-ever torch relay in North Korean territory, the Choson Sinbo, the daily newspaper of Chongryon, the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, said in its Saturday edition.
North Korea surprised the world by beating Italy 1-0 in the final group-stage match to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals in London.
Most of the runners in North Korea will be citizens “who made a special contribution in the sports field,” including Jong Song-ok, who won the 1999 World Athletics Championship, the newspaper said.
The rest are officials with the International Olympic Committee, the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang, representatives of Chinese residents in North Korea and major sponsors of the torch relay, the newspaper said.
The torch is set to pass from South Korea to North Korea in the early hours of April 28 before heading to Vietnam that evening aboard a flight.
The 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) section linking Juche Tower to Kim Il Sung Stadium, both major landmarks in Pyongyang, was chosen for the event, it said.
It indicated Pyongyang citizens will be mobilized to stand along the street while the torch passes, by saying, “A large welcoming crowd will cheer for the torch runners.”
Yonhap