The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday held its first Pyongyang International Marathon in six years, with nearly 200 runners from home and abroad participating in the race.
Athletes from China, Romania, Ethiopia and other countries participated in the 2025 event.
The marathon is a return course run through central Pyongyang, passing the city's landmarks, including the Arch of Triumph, the China-DPRK Friendship Tower, the Kim Il Sung Square, the Pyongyang Grand Theater and the Future Scientists' Street.
The Kim Il Sung Stadium where runners start and finish their race was filled with spectators, many of them cheering and waving gold-colored paper flags.
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.
"It's my first time to participate in the Pyongyang marathon. The environment here is very good. The spectators are also very enthusiastic. There were cheers for us all the way," said Ren Lei, a Chinese athlete who took the 31st place in the men's marathon race.
The Pyongyang marathon was initiated in 1981 to celebrate the April 15 birthday of the country's late founder Kim Il Sung. Foreigners have been allowed to take part in the event since 2014.
Before Sunday's marathon, the race was last held in 2019.
The DPRK has kept its borders closed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It allowed Russian tour groups to enter the country last year, but has not yet been open to international tourist travel since.
DPRK holds 1st Pyongyang International Marathon in 6 years
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in Iran is "under total control" following violence linked to protests that spiked over the weekend.
Addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, the foreign minister noted that armed terrorist groups had infiltrated the protests, attempting to divert them from their legitimate course. He claimed that evidence has been gathered showing Iranian security forces being shot at, with the aim of causing further casualties. He accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.
Araghchi further stated that the government is closely monitoring developments on the streets, emphasizing that "the situation has come under control." He also affirmed that internet services, curtailed during the unrest, would be restored after coordination with security agencies.
The government has engaged in dialogue with merchants and protest representatives and initiated reforms to address grievances related to price hikes and currency depreciation. Iran has taken a series of actions and measures to respond to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, the foreign minister said.
Earlier on Sunday, Araghchi said that clear evidence links recent riots and vandalism of public facilities in Iran to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. This came after former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on Iran's streets in a social media post. The Iranian foreign minister asserted that police are being attacked by "terrorists" acting under the direction of Israeli operatives, whom Pompeo publicly acknowledged.
The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and U.S. sanctions.
Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest
