In a bizzare set of events, North Korean athletes Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong, who won silver medals for their country in the recently concluded Paris Olypics are undergoing a process of ‘ideological evaluation’, as per a report by The Telegraph.
The process reportedly last round a month and is aimed to ensure intentions of purging influe of ‘non-socialist’. Reportedly, the review process would include going over every aspect of the athlete’s conduct at the Olympics and if they are found to behave in contradiction to Kim Jong Un’s regime, they could face disciplinary actions.
However, the report isn’t clear on whether the end result could be severe penalities on the athletes or just a simple warning and order to undergo self-reflection.
The Telegraph states that Kim Kum Yong is under scrutiny by the country’s government for smiling during the victory photo with her South Korean rival. The subsequent selfie at the Paris Olympic had gone viral with users broadly hailing it as a matter of sportsmanship trumping over cross border hostility.
“If they interacted with athletes from other countries, they must strongly reflect on their actions to avoid potential political or administrative punishment,” the Telegraph reported a source as saying.
Notably, North Korean athletes had reportedly been given ‘special instructions’ to not interact with South Korean or other foreign athletes in Paris and warned about the repercussions of not following this order.
However, things haven’t been always like this between North Korea and South Korea at the Olympics. The marquee event has acted an occasion to reflect on the state of diplomacy between the two nations. For instance, during a relatively warm period of relations between the two countries in 2018 Winter Olympics, athletes from both countries marched together during the opening ceremony and even fielded a unified women’s ice hockey team.