Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea sent a total of 36 athletes, 13 men and 23 women, to compete only in 9 sports.

For the second time in Olympic history, North Korea was represented by more female than male athletes due to its stark team size of women in diving and artistic gymnastics.

[3] North Korea left Athens with a total of five Olympic medals (four silver and one bronze), failing to claim a single gold for the second consecutive time since Sydney.

Lightweight judoka Kye Sun-Hui managed to complete a full set of medals in her illustrious sporting career with a silver, in addition to her gold in Atlanta and bronze in Sydney.

[6][7] Kim Song-Guk was a surprise finalist in the featherweight class, beating the European bronze medalist in the second round and the All-Africa Games silver medalist in the quarters before edging World runner-up and European champion Vitali Tajbert in the semifinals.