Paek Ok Sim, Pang Myong Hyang and Ri Ji Ye triumphed in the 10 meters running target women's team competition, ahead of Kazakhstan and Indonesia.
It was North Korea's first gold of the Games and first in major international competition since the pandemic. The country skipped the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and was then been barred from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The mini gold rush took North Korea's overall tally in Hangzhou to 12 medals.
North Korea's flag was displayed at the opening ceremony and in medal ceremonies at the Games, despite supposedly being banned from doing so over doping violations.The Wada declared the country's national anti-doping body "non-compliant" in 2021 and slapped it with sanctions. They included not being able to fly the North Korean flag at any regional, continental or world sports event, excluding the Olympics and Paralympics.
On Sunday, Olympic Council of Asia chief Raja Randhir Singh defended the organization's decision to allow North Korea to fly its flag."We are in discussions with [Wada] and North Korea has written to them as well explaining their position," said Singh."We are explaining from our side as well."
China continued to dominate the Games, with another productive day by home athletes pushing their total haul of gold medals to 90.They capped their day with five golds in swimming, including victories in the men's 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay and the women's 4 x 200m freestyle relay.
South Korea was a distant second with 24 gold medals, followed by Japan with 18. None of the rest of the competing countries has more than six golds.AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
