North Korea’s Olympic team has won five medals so far at the Paris Olympics, but they will likely go home empty-handed when it comes to the new smartphones.
The International Olympic Committee announced on Thursday that North Korean athletes will be the only ones who will not receive the free Samsung smartphones distributed to all other teams in Paris.
Samsung, the South Korean company that sponsored the Olympics, said it would give 10,500 of its new phones free to this year’s Olympic athletes, including the Galaxy Z Flip 6, which features a foldable screen that’s not available on any commercially available iPhone.
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North Korean Olympic athletes will not receive free smartphones from Samsung. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images/File)
But South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that providing Samsung smartphones to North Korean Olympic athletes could violate U.N. sanctions related to North Korea’s weapons programs.
In a statement, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “In accordance with Article 7 of Resolution 2397 (2017), the UN Security Council prohibits the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of any industrial machinery to North Korea, including smartphones, and this resolution prohibits such items.” It added, “The government is continuing its diplomatic efforts in cooperation with the international community to ensure the thorough implementation of UN Security Council resolutions.”
North Korea has been under UN sanctions over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs since 2006, and the sanctions have become tougher each year.
North Korean athletes sail on the Seine River as part of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26. (Maya Hitidji/Getty Images)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s military has recently boasted about its weaponry advances. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported in early July that the military had tested a Hwasong-11 missile, known as the Da-4.5, capable of carrying a 4.5-ton warhead.
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Just days later, South Korea’s military announced it was preparing a “Star Wars” laser defense system to counter North Korea’s evolving weaponry.
“We will be the first country in the world to field and operate a laser weapon, further enhancing our military’s ability to respond to North Korean drone provocations,” the Defense Acquisition Agency said in a statement.
North Korea’s Cho Jin-mi and Kim Mi-rae will compete in the women’s synchronized 10-meter platform final. (Sarah Steer/Getty Images)
Tensions between the two countries have led to similar incidents involving Samsung in the past.
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At the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, North Koreans refused to accept Samsung devices provided by organisers on the condition they return them before returning home, according to South Korean officials.
North Korea has 14 athletes competing in the Paris Olympics. Ri Jong-sik and Kim Kum-yong won the silver medal in the mixed doubles table tennis event, and Jo Jin-mi and Kim Mi-rae won the silver medal in the women’s synchronized 10-meter platform diving.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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