Kye Sun-hui /AP

North Korea has won 10 gold, 12 silver, and 19 bronze medals at the Summer Games to date, a haul that ranks it 43rd in terms of number of medals gained at the quadrennial event. It has picked up three gold medals in wrestling, two in boxing and gymnastics, and one each in weightlifting, judo, and shooting.

In contrast, only 18 countries have picked up more medals overall than South Korea at the Summer Olympics.

North Korea's Central News Agency reported that the reclusive state has set a goal "to win more medals than ever at the London 2012 Summer Olympics." The London Games run from next Friday to Aug. 12.

The North's best performance at the Olympics was in Barcelona in 1992, when it finished 16th overall with four gold and five bronze medals. At Beijing 2008, it ended 34th with two gold, one silver and three bronze medals.

A total of 51 North Korean athletes, of which 14 are men and 37 are women, will compete in 11 disciplines in London. The North's delegation left for the British capital on Tuesday on an Air Koryo flight, but has kept a tight lid on its detailed itinerary.

The country has high hopes on wrestling, weightlifting, and women's football. North Korea's "judoka heroine" Kye Sun-hui, who won medals of three different colors in as many Olympics and in three different weight classes, will be onboard as a coach. She took gold in the 48-kg category at Atlanta 1996, bronze in the 52-kg class at Sydney 2000, and silver in the 57-kg class at Athens 2004.