Female weightlifters take North Korea's first gold medals at the East Asian Games

Jong Sim Rim of North Korea lifts 142kg to take the gold medal in the women's 69kg Group A 'clean and jerk' weighlifting event at the East Asian Games in Tianjin on October 8, 2013. (Credit: AFP) 

Two North Korean athletes have set East Asian Games weightlifting records as the nation gathered its first gold medals at this year's regional meeting.

Rim Jong-Sim has set new games marks of 117kg in the 'snatch' and 148kg in the 'clean and jerk' of the women's 69kg weightlifting.

Her teammate Kim Un-Ju has taken gold in the women's 75kg weightlifting with a total score of 266kg, including a games record 'clean and jerk' of 153kg.



Another North Korean, Chun Mi-Jong, has taken gold in the women's 63kg category with a total score of 226kg.

But host country China has consolidated its lead in the medal table on the second day of the quadrennial games, with more than three times as many gold medals as its nearest competitor, Japan.

China, which has bested its competitors in each of the five previous East Asian Games, has gathered 31 gold medals to Japan's 10 as of early Tuesday evening.

The 10-day regional contest is being held in the port city of Tianjin in northern China.

This year's competition features more than 2,400 athletes from China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Mongolia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Guam, competing in 24 different sports, according to Chinese state media.

It is the last time the East Asian Games will be held in their current form, Xinhua news agency said, with the event due to be transformed into a youth games for athletes aged 14 to 18.