North Korean table tennis pair may face punishment for 'smiling' with rivals on Olympic podium

The North Korean table tennis pair, Kim Kum-yong and Ri Jing-sik, who clinched the silver medal in the mixed team event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, may face disciplinary action for an unexpected reason: smiling in a selfie with their rivals. The selfie, taken with the gold-medal-winning Chinese team and the bronze-medalist South Korean team on the podium, has sparked controversy back home.

According to a report by The Telegraph, Kim Kum-yong is under scrutiny for smiling in the victory photo with South Korean athletes, a group North Korea considers fierce rivals.

The image of athletes from these rival nations sharing a light moment on the Olympic podium quickly went viral on social media, with many calling it a "beautiful moment in Olympic history." However, this moment of sportsmanship didn’t sit well with North Korea, where interactions with South Korea and other nations are tightly controlled by Kim Jong Un's regime.

Since their return on August 15, the North Korean athletes have reportedly undergone a month-long "cleanse" designed to eliminate any influence of "non-socialist" culture, as reported by the Daily NK. This process, managed by North Korea's Ministry of Sport, includes a three-stage ideological assessment to ensure the athletes adhere to state-approved values.

During the Paris Summer Games, the North Korean athletes were instructed to avoid interactions with their South Korean counterparts or athletes from other countries. Violating these orders could result in severe punishments, though the exact penalties remain unclear.

Past incidents hint at the potential severity of such repercussions. Following North Korea's disappointing performance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, players were subjected to a six-hour public criticism session, and the coach was sent to labor construction as punishment.