Since their return to Pyongyang in mid-August, North Korean athletes who participated in the Paris Olympic Games have been subjected to lengthy sessions of “ideological scrubbing” by Kim Jong-un’s regime. This is according to the South Korean media outlet Daily NK, which benefits from exclusive sources in North Korea. “The athletes and members of the North Korean Olympic Committee are being scrutinized for possible ideological flaws” upon their return from France, explains the online newspaper.
According to experts, this procedure of checking loyalty to the political values of the dictatorship is systematically applied to all North Korean athletes who participate in international competitions. “Five former officials and two men who worked abroad told me, after fleeing North Korea, that anyone authorized to go abroad undergoes rigorous ideological training, constant surveillance while abroad, and exhaustive evaluations upon their return,” confirms researcher Lina Yoon of the NGO Human Rights Watch.
Interrogations
Since their landing, the members of the North Korean delegation have had to undergo three lengthy evaluations conducted by the sports department of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party – the regime’s single party -, by the Ministry of Physical Culture as well as by the athletes’ political organizations.
As the interrogations progress, Pyongyang seeks to ensure that its athletes have not been contaminated, through contact with foreigners, by Western liberal ideas or non-socialist ideologies, which could potentially lead to a discourse critical of or challenging the authoritarian regime and its propaganda. “Even minor deviations from approved conduct are scrutinized, and any sign of external ideological influence can lead to serious consequences,” the specialist warns.
Rare moment of brotherhood
After the Olympics, the regime’s agents reportedly questioned their athletes in particular about their contacts with South Korean teams, which are normally banned by the government. Human Rights Watch thus highlights the threat hanging over North Korean table tennis players Kim Kum-yong and Ri Jong-sik. After winning the silver medal in mixed doubles on July 30, they were filmed on the final podium, in the Paris Sud Arena, taking a smiling selfie with the South Korean bronze medalists and the Chinese gold medalists.
While the photo, depicting a rare moment of brotherhood between citizens of two nations that are technically still at war, has been hailed as one of the most moving of the Olympics, it could lead to sanctions against the young athletes. Human Rights Watch is calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ensure the protection of table tennis players from possible abuse by their government. “North Korean athletes should not fear reprisals for their actions at the Games, particularly when those actions embody the values of respect and friendship on which the Olympic Movement is founded,” Yoon said.
