(Reuters) - The International Judo Federation has relocated the 2017 Junior World Judo Championships to Zagreb, Croatia, from North Korea's Pyongyang due to security concerns, judo's governing body said in a statement.
Earlier this week, the North Korean military conducted a live-fire exercise to mark its foundation, while a U.S. submarine docked in South Korea in a show of force amid growing concern over the North's nuclear and missile programmes.
"There are some outstanding issues like air accessibility of Pyongyang, safety and security of participants and their belongings, communications with the outside world, possibility of live streaming etc," IJF said in a statement.
"A number of countries – national federations and individuals concerned, communicated with the IJF, via formal or informal channels, that they are worried about this event."
In August last year, North Korea's capital Pyongyang was awarded the world event, which was scheduled to take place from Oct 18 to 22.