# North Korea men's national ice hockey team

The North Korea national ice hockey team (Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국 아이스하키 국가대표팀) is the national men's ice hockey team of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), and represent the country in IIHF competition. They withdrew from the 2007 World Championships, and therefore were automatically relegated to Division III in the 2008 edition, where they finished first. They then played in Division II during the 2009 edition, and finished last bringing them back down to Division III for 2010. They are currently ranked 56th in the IIHF World Rankings.

## 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 the DPR Korea was founded in 1955. North Korea became a member of the IIHF on 8 August 1964. North Korea's first national championship was held in 1956 and was won by Amnokgang Pyongyang. The North Korea 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 8 March 1974, but rebounded for a surprising victory over China.

## Withdrawal from 2011, 2022 and 2023 IIHF tournaments

DPR Korea announced that their men's and women's teams were not going to compete in IIHF competition due to financial reasons. The men's team was scheduled to participate at the Div II championships in Melbourne, Australia, while the women's team was scheduled to participate at the Div II championship in Caen, France. DPR Korea men's team also withdrew from Division III A tournaments in 2022 and 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore was not active until 2024.

## Tournament participation
### World Championships

* 1974 – 22nd place (8th in Pool C)
* 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 – 22nd place (2nd in Pool C, Group A)
* 1993 – 26th place (6th in Pool C)
* 2002 – 41st place (1st in Division II qualification)
* 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
* 2010 – 42nd place (1st in Division III, Group B) Promoted to Division II
* 2011 – Withdrew from Division II
* 2012 – 42nd place (2nd in Division III)
* 2013 – 42nd place (2nd in Division III)
* 2014 – 42nd place (2nd in Division III)
* 2015 – 41st place (1st in Division III) Promoted to Division II B
* 2016 – 39th place (5th in Division II B)
* 2017 – 38th place (4th in Division II B)
* 2018 – 38th place (4th in Division II B)
* 2019 – 40th place (6th in Division II, Group B) Relegated to Division III A
* 2020 – Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
* 2021 – All lower division tournaments cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
* 2022 – Withdrew from Division III A due to the COVID-19 pandemic
* 2023 – Withdrew from Division III A, relegated to Division III B
* 2024 – 48th place (2nd in Division III B)

### Asian Winter Games

* 1986 – 4th place
* 1990 – 4th place
* 2007 – 5th place

## All-time record against other nations

As of 29 February 2024
| Opponent | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA |
| Armenia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 9 |
| Australia | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 42 |
| Austria | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Belgium | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 15 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 4 |
| Bulgaria | 16 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 43 | 76 |
| China | 18 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 47 | 112 |
| Denmark | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 52 |
| Estonia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| France | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 65 |
| Georgia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 9 |
| Great Britain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 24 |
| Greece | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 5 |
| Hong Kong | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 10 |
| Hungary | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 38 | 71 |
| Iceland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 15 |
| Iran | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 |
| Ireland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| Israel | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 31 | 45 |
| Italy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| Japan | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 15 | 78 |
| Latvia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Lithuania | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Luxembourg | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 11 |
| Malaysia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Mexico | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 26 |
| Mongolia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 3 |
| Netherlands | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 25 |
| New Zealand | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 38 | 42 |
| Philippines | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| Romania | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 51 |
| Serbia/ Serbia and Montenegro | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 31 |
| Singapore | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 |
| South Africa | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 8 |
| South Korea | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 64 | 40 |
| Spain | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 32 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| Turkey | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 12 |
| United Arab Emirates | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 6 |
| Ukraine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| Yugoslavia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 38 |
| Total | 194 | 75 | 6 | 113 | 771 | 1048 |