Pyongyang, January 23 (KCNA) -- The 2026 National Schoolchildren's Games opened with due ceremony at the Samjiyon Schoolchildren's Palace in Samjiyon City on January 22.

The games will bring together more than 8 000 excellent sports group members of schools who proved successful in city, county and provincial preliminaries. They will compete in 18 events including Taekwon-Do, basketball and speed skating.

Present at the opening ceremony were officials concerned, officials of the youth league, teachers and schoolchildren.

At the opening ceremony, a speaker declared the opening of the games, calling on all the players to fully display their high sports skills, team spirit and good sportsmanship in every game and thus demonstrate the trustworthy looks of our schoolchildren growing up to be pillars of prosperous Korea. -0-