North Korea men's national ice hockey team

The North Korean men's national ice hockey team are a national selects team that plays yearly in the Ice Hockey World Championships. They withdrew from the 2007 edition, and therefore were automatically relegated to Division III in the 2008 edition, where they finished first. They will therefore play in Division II during the 2009 edition.

History
The Game of ice hockey in North Korea became popular during the 1950s when Soviet and Chinese workers taught the game and its rules in the capital city of Pyongyang. The Ice Hockey Association of North Korea was founded in 1955. North Korea became a member of the IIHF on August 8 1964. North Korea's first national Championship was held in 1956 and was won by Amnokang Pyonyang. The North Korean national team did not make its debut until 1974 when it competed in the C pool of the World Championships. The team lost its first game to Italy, 11-2 on March 8th, 1974, but rebounded for surprising victories over China and Australia.

Tournament participation

 * 1974 - 22nd place (8th in Pool C)
 * 1975-80 - did not participate
 * 1981 - 23rd place (7th in Pool C)
 * 1983 - 24th place (8th in Pool C)
 * 1985 - 23rd place (7th in Pool C)
 * 1986 - 23rd place (7th in Pool C)
 * 1987 - 22nd place (6th in Pool C)
 * 1989 - 22nd place (6th in Pool C)
 * 1990 - 21st place (5th in Pool C)
 * 1991 - 23rd place (7th in Pool C)
 * 1992 - 14th place (2nd in Pool C, Group A)
 * 1993 - 22nd place (6th in Pool C)
 * 1994-02 - did not participate
 * 2003 - 35th place (4th in Division II, Group B)
 * 2004 - 34th place (3rd in Division II, Group B)
 * 2005 - 34th place (3rd in Division II, Group B)
 * 2006 - 36th place (4th in Division II, Group B)
 * 2007 - Withdrew from tournament, relegated to Division III
 * 2008 - 41st place (1st in Division III) Promoted to Division II
 * 2009 - 39th place (6th in Division II, Group A) Relegated to Division III

Asian Winter Games
At the recent 6th Asian Winter Games, held in Changchun, China, the men's team was placed a respectable 5th position, behind the four major powers of Asian ice hockey.

The women's team finished 4th out of a possible five places, encouragingly being placed higher than their historically superior neighbours South Korea.

2008 World Championship team

 * Head coach: 🇰🇵 Pak Chang-Dok