The 31st Pyongyang International Marathon was held on Sunday in the capital city of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
It was the first time for the DPRK to host an edition of the event once again in six years since the previous session in 2019. DPRK runner Pak Kim Dong won the first place in the men's full marathon with a time of two hours 12 minutes 11 seconds, and Jon Su Gyong, also from the host country, won the women's full marathon with a time of two hours 25 minutes 50 seconds.
An award ceremony was held after the race.
The DPRK has kept its borders closed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The DPRK allowed Russian tour groups to enter the country last year, but Pyongyang has not yet been open to international tourist travel since.
DPRK holds first Pyongyang International Marathon in six years
Many weapons provided by Germany to Ukraine for the latter's conflict with Russia have technical flaws, according to German media.
As the crisis continues, Germany has become the second largest military supporter for Ukraine.
Recently, several German media outlets have obtained a classified document from Germany's Federal Ministry of Defense, which revealed that plenty of weapons supplied by Germany to Ukraine have technical flaws, as most of the German systems are only partially suitable for combat.
Feedbacks from Ukrainian forces show that the primary issues with German weapons are high cost in ammunition, fragile systems and complex maintenance.
For example, the PzH-2000 is prone to malfunction technically, which significantly undermines its combat effectiveness.
In addition, Leopard tanks could either lack enough protection, or are too challenging to repair due to their complicated structures.
The document recorded remarks from a German officer stationed in Ukraine, who said the utilization rate of German weapons is quite low as they have to be repaired in factories and many of such factories are located in west Ukraine, which are far away from the frontline.
For now, Germany's incoming administration hasn't taken a clear stand on how to solve the Ukrainian crisis, and German people are also getting more and more frustrated over the endless military support. Therefore, dealing with the Russia-Ukraine conflict is still going to be a big challenge for the new government.
Weapons supplied by Germany to Ukraine have technical flaws: media
