North Korea competed as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's seventh appearance at the Olympics since its debut in 1972. North Korean athletes did not attend the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, when they joined the Soviet boycott, and subsequently, led a boycott at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, along with six other nations. Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea sent a total of 36 athletes, 13 men and 23 women, to compete only in 9 sports. For the second time in Olympic history, North Korea was represented by more female than male athletes due to its stark team size of women in diving and artistic gymnastics. Former basketball player and National Olympic Committee official Kim Song-Ho became the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony. Both North Korea and South Korea marched together in the Parade of Nationsat the Opening and Closing Ceremonies under the Korean Unification Flag, a white flag showing the united Korean peninsula in blue. They had two flagbearers carrying the flag together at each occasion, one representing the North and the other representing the South. The female athletes and staff wore red blazers, while their male counterparts wore blue. Although they marched together, the teams competed separately and had separate medal tallies. North Korea left Athens with a total of five Olympic medals, failing to claim a single gold for the second consecutive time since Sydney. All of these medals were awarded to the athletes in boxing, judo, shooting, table tennis, and weightlifting. Lightweight judoka Kye Sun-Hui managed to complete a full set of medals in her illustrious sporting career with a silver, in addition to her gold in Atlanta and bronze in Sydney.
Medalists
Athletics
North Korean athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events. ;Key
Note-Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
Q = Qualified for the next round
q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
NR = National record
N/A = Round not applicable for the event
Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
;Men ;Women
Boxing
was a surprise finalist in the featherweight class, beating the European bronze medalist in the second round and the All-Africa Gamessilver medalist in the quarters before edging World runner-up and European champion Vitali Tajbert in the semifinals. In the final, Tichtchenko pulled out into an early lead over Kim and never looked back, easily taking victory and leaving Kim to the silver medal.
Diving
North Korean divers qualified for four individual spots in the following events. ;Men ;Women
Gymnastics
Artistic
;Men ;Women ;Team ;Individual finals
Judo
Six North Korean judoka qualified for the following events. ;Men ;Women
Shooting
Three North Korean shooters qualified to compete in the following events: ;Men ;Women
Table tennis
Four North Korean table tennis players qualified for the following events.
Weightlifting
Four North Korean weightlifters qualified for the following events:
