No, North Korea is not at the 2026 Winter Olympics. It's not actually because of a ban, though. The North Koreans simply didn't have anyone qualify for these Games. North Korea last competed in the Winter Olympics in 2018.

North Korea has had a turbulent relationship with the Winter Olympics in the past few years. They last competed at the Winter Games at the 2018 PyeongChang edition and were absent from the 2020 Tokyo and 2022 Beijing Games, citing travel restrictions and after receiving a ban, respectively.

Rim Jong-un of Korea celebrates with the Taegeukgi, the Korean national flag, draped over his shoulders after winning the bronze medal in the men’s 1,000-meter short-track speed skating final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Feb. 12. [YONHAP]

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Some might say the seeds of an Olympic-sized surprise in snowboarding were planted a month ago. That’s when Chloe Kim went skittering down a halfpipe in Switzerland, smashing her shoulder and turning her run for a third straight gold medal into a less-than-perfect scramble.

Two South Korean cross-country skiers, Han Dasom and Lee Eui-jin, have been disqualified from the Winter Olympics after reportedly using a banned item.

The U.S. women’s curling team had five stolen points in an 8-4 win victory over South Korea on Thursday, Day 1 of the women’s curling competition at the Milan Cortina Games.

Dangerous weather conditions during Thursday's Olympic women's halfpipe final result in several concerning crashes.

Follow live text, BBC TV coverage, radio commentary, reaction and updates from the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.