North Korean athletes undergoing ‘ideological evaluation’ for Olympic selfie

lemme in@lemm.ee to World News@lemmy.world – 257 points – North Korean athletes undergoing ‘ideological evaluation’ for Olympic selfie
telegraph.co.uk

It was a heartwarming moment that captured the Olympic spirit, but North Korea’s table tennis champions may be punished for joining a selfie with their opponents from the South.

Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong, who won silver medals, are said to be undergoing “ideological evaluation” along with other athletes who returned from the Paris Games.

The assessment is a standard procedure to “cleanse” the team from “exposure to contamination” abroad, the Daily NK reported.

North Korean athletes were reportedly given “special instructions” not to interact with South Koreans or other foreign athletes in Paris, under threat of repercussions.

Since returning from France, the Olympic team is believed to be in the process of a three-stage ideological assessment process by the country’s ministry of sport.

It is said to last about a month, with the intention of purging any lingering influence of “non-socialist” culture.

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it's incredible how it is possible to enslave an entire nation. these poor people.

Table tennis champions said to be in ‘cleanse from exposure to contamination’ following podium picture with opponents

Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong, who won silver medals, are said to be undergoing “ideological evaluation” along with other athletes who returned from the Paris Games.

the Daily NK reported.

Citing anonymous official sources in Pyongyang, the news outlet, which specialises in North Korean affairs

Hmmm...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_NK

Daily NK is a recipient of funding from multiple institutions and private donors, including the National Endowment for Democracy,[4] an NGO funded by the U.S. Congress. Daily NK's president is Lee Kwang-baek.

The organization is part of a consortium with the Unification Media Group, which is a South Korea–based non-profit organization that produces and delivers radio content into North Korea via short-wave radio broadcasts.

So it's a NED funded propaganda network controlled by Lee Kwang-baek

https://www.dailynk.com/english/author/lee-kwang-baek/

Lee Kwang Baek has served as Daily NK's president since 2014 alongside his role as president of Unification Media Group. He is an advisor to the Korea Hana Foundation

https://koreahana.or.kr/home/eng/contents.do?menuPos=2

The Korea Hana Foundation(KHF) is a non-profit public organization established by Ministry of Unification in 2010. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Unification

The Ministry of Unification (Korean: 통일부; Hanja: 統一部) is an executive department of the South Korean government

So the source for this story is another story citing "anonymous sources", and that original story is from a US-South Korea joint propaganda project?

Nice.

Thanks for actually delving into the sources. Telegraph already isn't the best source and it seemed hard to believe.

The Workers' Paradise of North Korea is clearly just trying to protect itself from the Globalhomo menace /s

Yup. Also, they're happy and fine. Everything you hear to the contrary is just western propaganda.

Why the hell do we allow North Koreans to join us in anything internationally? Brutal dictatorships should not be enabled in any way

Precisely for the togetherness that you see in that picture...and NK had to see it as a threat, of course.

They saw it as a threat according to who?

Lmao NK tankies must tongue scrub the toes of other tankies

According to Daily NK, a media outlet specializing in North Korean affairs, the North's delegation returned to Pyongyang on Aug. 15 and is going through what has been described as an ideological evaluation.

This is a standard procedure for North Koreans who have been exposed to non-communist cultures while abroad. The media outlet said that North Korea views staying in a non-communist country as a form of "exposure to contamination."

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/sports/2024/08/600_381093.html

PS: found the article they cite https://www.dailynk.com/chinese/%E6%9C%9D%E9%B2%9C%E8%BF%90%E5%8A%A8%E5%91%98%E5%9C%A8%E5%A5%A5%E6%9E%97%E5%8C%B9%E5%85%8B%E8%B7%9F%E9%9F%A9%E5%9B%BD%E9%80%89%E6%89%8B%E5%AC%89%E7%AC%91%E8%87%AA%E6%8B%8D%E8%80%8C/

Ok, and who is the daily NK and what is their source?

The source is "anonymous sources", and the daily nk is a US-South Korean joint propaganda project.

Good, probably fake news then, the rest of the world, including China, was glad to see it, so hopefully it is also shown and seen positively by NK. But nobody knows what happens in NK through official channels, "fake news" from anonymous sources is all we have.

Do you want north Korea itself to report these news? Of course reporting them is those that are interested in reporting these news.

It doesn't mean that the news are real, but it doesn't mean that they're fake either.

I didn't say it was definitely fake. But it's certainly not definitely true and that hasn't stopped almost everyone else here acting like it's a fact, speaking of...why aren't you pointing out to them that we shouldn't necessarily call it fake or real without further analysis?

If I posted a random article from North Korean news (in collaboration with China or Iran) about something bad with South Korea or the US and the article only cited "anonymous sources", would the reaction be the same?

People need to recognize and understand the media/propaganda they are consuming.

Yeah, it's pretty weird that they're banning (rightly but not thoroughly enough) Russia, but North Korea, Israel, and China get to participate as equals with the countries that AREN'T currently committing genocide, starving millions, and doping like there's no tomorrow.

It's almost like the ACTUAL reasoning of the IOC is nonpublic and laundry based.

I'm pretty sure Russia only got banned because they had a state-sponsored doping system. Long as you don't get caught with that, you can be as authoritarian as you want.

If that was true, how come China's allowed to compete with no restrictions after having 8 of their swimmers test positive in Tokyo and more just weeks before the games?

I'm no expert. But probably there just isn't enough evidence yet to accuse China as a whole of systematically doping its athletes. I'd imagine they err on the side of "allowing participation" with this kind of stuff.

They must have been exposed to too much light in Paris. It is the city of light after all.

I know it seems extreme but the best thing Paris can do for these poor souls is keep them indefinitely.

Kidnapping is based when the west does it to Asian?

Then you wonder how colonialism happened...

Kidnapping is based with North Koreans if it means giving them a better, happier and healthier life and a chance to let these particular athletes escape what will inevitably be a death sentence for taking a picture with the South Koreans. Are you just clueless or what? Kim has enslaved their entire nation with an iron fist.

Kidnapping is based with North Koreans if it means giving them a better, happier and healthier life

So as long as you believe you'll give them a better life you can kidnap them? Isn't that the logic north Korea themselves use to to isolate from the rest of the world?

So the north Korea can't use this logic to ban western influence but you can use it to kidnap people from a foreign nation and thats justified?

let these particular athletes escape what will inevitably be a death sentence for taking a picture with the South Koreans.

And you're basing this "inevitable death sentence" off of what?

An article, citing another article hosted by a "news agency" which is a NED/South Korean government United propaganda project, and cites "anonymous sources" who says they could have to publicly denounce the action?

Are you just clueless or what? Kim has enslaved their entire nation with an iron fist.

Meanwhile you're ready to advocate for the kidnapping of people from another country to save them based on nothing.

Pure white saviourism, as I said, people wonder how people allowed colonialism to happen...

Lol yeah, I do feel it's justified. You are welcome to disagree, and that's 100% ok. If you're expecting me to respond and debate this, it's not going to happen. Have a nice day!

I wonder what North Koreans would think if they knew there was a "debate" on if it's acceptable to kidnap and hold them against their will...they'd probably understand why their govt is so careful and isolationist when it comes to the west.

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And of course The telegraph has been informed by the North Korean authorities what they’re doing to those athletes…. Propaganda!!

Seriously, how would we even know this? I thought this was the onion or another satirical publication at first.

North Korea is the ultimate "big bad" for the west.

Just say literally anything bad you want about them and the people at large will eat it up because they have already been primed to do so.

I mean, people genuinely believe that north Koreans are both starving having to live on grass and bugs, but also that they have to manually push trains around...logic doesn't exist.

I mean... Many are indeed starving or going through hardships in the country side. The part about the train seems silly.

"Why don't you say that three times: Within cells interlinked."

"Within cells interlinked. Within cells interlinked. Within cells interlinked."

Fun. When the news came first time, the comments were all mansplaining to a guy that said "hope they will be okay" that the athletes definitely are not going to get in trouble for this. I don't understand where people think their educated guesses are worth spreading like gospel when they aren't experts at all on the question