North Korean weightlifters failed to show at an Olympic qualifying competition in Cuba on Thursday despite registering for the event, extending a yearslong absence from international sport.

The development comes after the DPRK’s registration last month raised the possibility that the country would soon ease its strict COVID-19 border controls, which have prevented even its own citizens from entering the country since early 2020.

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) announced on May 22 that the DPRK Weightlifting Federation would send 14 men and women to the IWF Grand Prix, which kicked off in Havana this week. 

But a North Korean