North Korea's Kang Hyun-kyung won a gold medal on September 23 at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Following Ri Song-gum's earlier victory, Kang's achievement further showcased North Korea's strength in weightlifting.
Kang secured the gold in the women's 53kg category at the Nagoya Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Hall, lifting 99kg in the snatch and 124kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 223kg.
Both her snatch and clean and jerk records set new Asian Games records.
Earlier in the day, North Korea's leading female weightlifter, Ri Song-gum, also excelled in the 49kg category, lifting 94kg in the snatch and 121kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 215kg, which is a world record.
North Korea is recognized as a global powerhouse in weightlifting. Both Ri and Kang were named among the 'Top 10 Athletes' in North Korea last year, a distinction awarded to only ten athletes across all sports.
After a medal drought until the previous day, North Korea secured two gold medals along with a silver medal in women's singles from Ri Jin-mi and a bronze in women's team table tennis, bringing their total medal count to five and elevating them to a tie for ninth place in the overall medal standings.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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