North Korea Confiscates Free Samsung Galaxy Smartphones From Olympians

The Olympics may occasion a celebration of human accomplishment and international cooperation, but the Games are also a clash of nations in a literal and very real sense– politics by other means. And sometimes things get very petty.

While the South Korean electronics conglomerate Samsung may have donated 12,500 of its limited edition Olympic Games-branded Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones to Olympians in the spirit of generosity and goodwill, North Korea’s Olympic Committee has yet to allow its 31 athletes to accept any of them. Instead, the Korea bureau of Radio Free Asia is reporting that a North Korean team manager took the 31 complimentary phones from the Samsung office and has refused to deliver them to the intended recipients.

The Washington Post has speculated that the move is meant to restrict the communications of the North Korean athletes and perhaps even prevent them from defecting. North Korea’s repressive regime has a well-known history of harshly punishing defectors and exerting tight controls on the exchange of information.

It may also be a reflection of the fact that North and South Korea are technically still at war and that relations between the two nations are still hostile. In fact, while North Korea has participated in nearly every Olympics in recent history, it boycotted the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea.

Samsung, which is an official sponsor of the Olympics, has been giving out the latest Galaxy smartphones to Olympic athletes since the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Radio Free Asia reports.

North Korea Confiscates Free Samsung Galaxy Smartphones From Olympians

The Olympics may occasion a celebration of human accomplishment and international cooperation, but the Games are also a clash of nations in a literal and very real sense– politics by other means. And sometimes things get very petty.

While the South Korean electronics conglomerate Samsung may have donated 12,500 of its limited edition Olympic Games-branded Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones to Olympians in the spirit of generosity and goodwill, North Korea’s Olympic Committee has yet to allow its 31 athletes to accept any of them. Instead, the Korea bureau of Radio Free Asia is reporting that a North Korean team manager took the 31 complimentary phones from the Samsung office and has refused to deliver them to the intended recipients.

The Washington Post has speculated that the move is meant to restrict the communications of the North Korean athletes and perhaps even prevent them from defecting. North Korea’s repressive regime has a well-known history of harshly punishing defectors and exerting tight controls on the exchange of information.

It may also be a reflection of the fact that North and South Korea are technically still at war and that relations between the two nations are still hostile. In fact, while North Korea has participated in nearly every Olympics in recent history, it boycotted the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea.

Samsung, which is an official sponsor of the Olympics, has been giving out the latest Galaxy smartphones to Olympic athletes since the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Radio Free Asia reports.