IOC denies allegations that North Korean athletes received Samsung smartphones

Diplomacy

IOC denies allegations that North Korean athletes received Samsung smartphones

Published: 09 Aug. 2024, 14:25

SEO JI-EUN
seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr

Olympic table tennis players from South and North Korea, along with Chinese players, pose together to take a selfie on the podium using the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 during the Paris 2024 Olympics on July 30. [YONHAP]

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) denied allegations that North Korean athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympics received Samsung smartphones, which could have violated international sanctions on Pyongyang for its nuclear and missile programs.

"We can confirm that the athletes of the NOC (National Olympic Committee) of the DPRK have not received the Samsung phones," the IOC said in a one-sentence statement issued Thursday, referring to North Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

IOC's provision of Samsung phones to North Korean athletes potentially violated UN sanctions, says Seoul

Samsung, an official Olympic sponsor, had provided all athletes participating in the Paris Olympics with a special edition of its Galaxy Z Flip 6 smartphone.

The statement comes in response to a report from Radio Free Asia (RFA), citing the IOC, that the North Korean Olympic Committee (NOC) had allegedly collected the smartphones from the athletes' village in Paris. However, the North Korean athletes' actual receipt of the phones was unclear, leading to the IOC's subsequent denial after its own verification process.

Earlier, the South Korean government raised concerns that providing North Korean athletes with Samsung Galaxy smartphones during the Olympics could violate UN sanctions.

In a press briefing, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said that "smartphones are classified as prohibited items under UN Security Council Resolution 2397." The ministry warned that while North Korean athletes receiving smartphones in Paris itself does not violate resolutions, bringing them back to their country would.

South Korea's Unification Ministry called on the IOC to provide a definitive answer on the matter, emphasizing that the responsibility for ensuring compliance with sanctions rests with the IOC, which makes the decision to distribute them to Olympic participants.

The incident marks the latest in a series of controversies surrounding the provision of smartphones to North Korean athletes at the Olympics.

During the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, the organizing committee, fearing sanctions violations, offered smartphones to the North Korean athletes on the condition that they be returned before leaving South Korea. In response, North Korea refused to accept the phones.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]