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North Korea hosts Baseball5 exhibition game amid talks with WBSC officials

Published: 23 Jul. 2025, 16:47 Updated: 23 Jul. 2025, 17:08

Pak Chon-jong, front right, vice minister of North Korea Physical Culture and Sports, shakes hands with Riccardo Fraccari, president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation, upon his arrival at Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang on July 19. [AFP/YONHAP]

North Korea has signaled a rare interest in baseball by hosting a Baseball5 exhibition game in Pyongyang, marking a potential shift in the country’s engagement with the sport long considered absent from its athletic landscape.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Wednesday that Riccardo Fraccari, president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), watched the exhibition game on Tuesday during his visit to Pyongyang with other WBSC delegates.

North Korea applied for WBSC membership on July 18, with Fraccari arriving in Pyongyang the next day and remaining in the capital.

WBSC representatives and North Korean officials are discussing ways to promote baseball and softball in the country. The Baseball5 game appears to be part of those efforts.

Baseball5 is a simplified, equipment-free version of baseball designed by the WBSC in 2017 to promote the sport in regions where it has limited presence, such as Africa and Europe.

Often referred to as “fistball” or “street baseball,” the game eliminates traditional gear like gloves, bats, pitchers and catchers, using only a rubber ball that players hit with their hands.

Each team consists of five players on the field, with two defenders positioned between first and third base. Teams may also include three substitutes for a total roster of eight players.

North Korea is considered a baseball desert.

The last known report of a game in the country dates back to 2015 in Nampo, South Pyongan Province.

The reclusive country has not participated in recent international events, making its current status difficult to assess.

Fraccari also met Tuesday with Kim Il-guk, North Korea’s minister of sports and president of the country's Olympic Committee, at the People's Palace of Culture in Pyongyang.

The KCNA did not release details of their conversation, but the two sides likely discussed ways to introduce baseball more broadly and prepare for international competition.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY SONG JI-HOON [[email protected]]