South Korea will be introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris

South Korea expressed regret that its delegation of athletes was introduced as a delegation from rival North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on Friday and demanded assurances from organizers that the mistake would not be repeated.

As the boat carrying the South Korean athletes passed the Seine, the announcer introduced them in French and English as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” – the official name of North Korea.

The announcer used the same introduction as the North Korean delegation passed by.

South Korea’s Deputy Minister of Sports and Culture Jang Mi-ran, who was in Paris, requested a meeting with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, the ministry said in a statement.

“We regret that the country was introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris when the athletes of the Republic of Korea arrived,” it said.

The South Korean National Olympic Committee immediately reported the incident to the organizers of the Games and demanded that this mistake not be repeated.

The IOC said the incident was a mistake and “sincerely apologized” for the Korean username used on X.

The South Korean delegation consists of 143 athletes participating in 21 competitions.

North Korea, which is participating in the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes.