The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that North Korean athletes have not received the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip smartphones due to potential sanction violations.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) prohibits any supply, sale, or transfer of "all industrial machinery" to North Korea.
IOC Avoids UNSC Sanction Violation
South Korean officials stated that providing Samsung smartphones to North Korean athletes during the Olympics would violate the ongoing sanctions against North Korea's nuclear and missile program.
During the Paris Olympics, the podium finishers are seen taking photos with a Galaxy Z Flip 6. A group photo including athletes from North Korea, China, and South Korea went viral after the ceremony.
The IOC confirmed that while all competing athletes were given the smartphones as part of the partnership, North Korean athletes have not received them. The decision was to prevent the violation of the Security Council Resolution 2397 which prohibits North Korea from receiving all kinds of industrial machinery.
North Korean Athletes Refuse Samsung Devices at the Olympics
In the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, athletes from North Korea refused the Samsung devices that were handed to them by the organizing committee. They were also given the condition to return the devices before heading back to their country.
The sanction against North Korea was passed in 2017 as the country was scrutinized for developing its nuclear weapon. The country previously stated that the weapons are mere "inevitable self-defensive measures" against the "U.S. nuclear threat and blackmail."
In 2020, North Korea refused to send athletes to the Tokyo Summer Olympics due to the risk of the pandemic. The country was penalized and barred from joining the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
