Death penalty for North Korean Olympians for showing sportsmanship?

The Paris Olympics 2024 ended a few weeks back. The Olympians are back in their home. The United States of America became the most successful side in the Olympics 2024 winning 125 medals in the major event. There were controversies from the start day of the event till the very last day. However, the event was successfully concluded by the host nation. They will now be hosting the Paralympics event in a couple of days.

Amidst all these far away there has been a controversy raised in North Korea. The nation’s table tennis partners Kim Kum-yong and Ri Jing-sik, might face disciplinary action for smiling while clicking a selfie with rivals. They won the silver medal in the mixed team event at the Paris Olympic Games 2024. They were caught taking selfies with the gold-medallist Chinese team and third-placed South Korean team at the podium.

As per the reports Kim Kum-yong is under scrutiny for smiling during the victory photoshoot with South Korean athletes. North Korea considers the Southern nation one of its fierce rivals. The selfie has been viral on social media and has it has stirred up the nation as well. The country’s rules and management are very strict.

North Korea athletes to face severe backlash

Will the athletes face the death penalty? Will they be beheaded or encountered for their mistakes? The whole world knows that Kim Jong Un’s regime strictly controls interactions with neighbours South Korea and other countries as well. The team whole Olympics team reached home on 15th August they were subjected to a month-long ‘cleansing’. It is done on purpose to remove the impact of ‘non-socialist’ culture from their nation.

Earlier they were asked not to have any kind of conversation with their South Korean counterparts or athletes from other countries at the major event. They said violations of these would lead to punishments. The degree of penalties remains unclear for the athletes. It will be interesting to watch for the fans and the other athletes what decision the regime takes.