North Korean table tennis players appear to escape punishment for Olympic selfies, appear unscathed on TV – hjgoose

South Korea's Shin Yu-bin, second from right, and Lim Jong-hoon, left, who won bronze, take a selfie with North Korean and Chinese athletes, July 30, at the South Paris Arena 4 in France during the table tennis event mixed doubles at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon

By KTimes

North Korean table tennis players, who were featured in televised training sessions, appear not to have been punished for taking selfies with South Korean athletes at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

North Korea's state broadcaster, Korean Central TV (KCTV), on Wednesday aired footage of athletes and coaches training at the Pyongyang Youth Street Sports Village, highlighting their efforts to honor their country with gold medals. Among the participants were Kim Kum-yong and Ri Jong-sik, who won silver in the mixed doubles table tennis tournament.

In an interview, Kim said: “We gained valuable experience and lessons from last year's Asian Games and this year's Olympic Games. We are now training intensively for the upcoming international competitions.”

Kim and Ri turned heads at the Paris Olympics when they took a selfie with South Koreans Shin Yu-bin and Lim Jong-hoon, who won bronze, and China's Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin, who won gold. The selfie was highlighted by several international media as one of the most memorable moments of the Summer Games.

However, concerns have been raised that these athletes could be punished if they return to North Korea for violating guidelines not to associate with foreign athletes, especially athletes from South Korea.

North Korean table tennis player Kim Kum-yong will be seen on Korean Central TV on Wednesday. Recorded by KCTV

Last month, Daily NK, citing sources in Pyongyang, reported that the athletes underwent a thorough ideological evaluation upon their return.

According to the report, officials were unhappy with the athletes' smiles and interactions with South Korean athletes, whom the regime considers its main opponent. Some, including defected politician Park Chung-kwon, speculated that the athletes could face two to three years of hard labor or, in serious cases, imprisonment in a political prison camp.

However, given recent footage of their training, these fears appear unfounded. It is still possible that they received light punishments and have since returned to training, or that North Korean authorities decided not to take punitive measures to avoid international scrutiny but chose to show them on TV.

This article from Hankook Ilbo, sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

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