SEOUL, March 26 (Yonhap) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un encouraged the country’s athletes to join as many international sports events as possible, with the aim of becoming a sports power, according to Pyongyang’s media Thursday.

The North held a national meeting of sportspersons on Wednesday at a stadium in the capital, said the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim was absent from the conference, the seventh of its kind, but he sent a letter to participants.

He emphasized the role of sports in “increasing the national power, exalting the dignity and honor of the nation, arousing national pride and self-esteem among the people and making revolutionary spirit prevail in the whole society,” the KCNA reported.

Kim, known as a die-hard sports fan, said the North needs to hold more sports competitions and athletes should participate in many international games, it added.

The North announced plans to send a team of athletes and coaches to the Gwangju Summer Universiade slated for July 3-14 in the South Korean city.

It also dispatched a 273-member delegation to the Incheon Asian Games in South Korea last year.