The athletes from North Korea spy on each other and live under strict surveillance from the intelligence agents of dictator Kim Jong-un while participating in the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.

It is believed that the athletes are monitored by agents who, in addition to preventing them from contacting other athletes, report all their movements to the regime in Pyongyang.

A total of 16 North Korean athletes traveled to Paris, accompanied by a delegation led by North Korea’s Minister of Culture and Sports, Kim Il Guk, to compete in around seven Olympic events in Paris, including boxing and table tennis, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

North Korea in Paris 2024

North Korean defector Jy Hyun Park, who now lives in the UK, told The Sun newspaper this weekend that a culture of «mutual criticism» would ensure that the athletes—12 women and 4 men—dare not step outside the movement boundaries imposed by Kim Jong-un’s regime.

«It is very likely that North Korean athletes are closely monitored by security personnel, including secret police handlers. The athletes are likely to endure harsh conditions under strict surveillance,» Park said. He added that the regime’s purpose is to keep its athletes «isolated» from everyone.

“Those participating in the Olympic Games not only criticize each other, but they will also criticize themselves for what they did while in France,” he recounted. “The monitoring group within the team records all their actions and sends them to the government.” He added that poor performances could result in physical punishment upon their return to their country, and they could even be «treated as political prisoners.»

“When the 16 North Korean athletes return home, the authorities will keep them silent about everything they saw in Paris,” Park explained. “They will be imprisoned somewhere upon their return and will sign a contract stating that they will not reveal anything about what they saw, heard, ate, or did in France.”

It is likely that spies will attend the Olympic events and draft surveillance reports to send to Pyongyang, said Michael Madden, founder of the organization NK Leadership Watch. “The surveillance of DPRK athletes and coaches participating in the Olympic Games is divided into two forms: direct physical surveillance and psychological conditioning and dynamics,” he explained.

There is peer pressure

Under the discreet watch of agents from the State Security Department (SSD), coaches and athletes are never alone; they are always in pairs or groups, Madden explained. When the athletes find themselves alone in the Olympic Village in Paris, they must discourage any disobedience from their teammates, as they will also get into trouble if they don’t, the expert added.

The athletes “will try to dissuade any prohibited interaction or behavior,” said Madden. “If they don’t, they could get into just as much trouble as the offender. Therefore, there is peer pressure and the presence of others to frustrate, directly or indirectly, any kind of transgression.”

Sentenced to forced labor if you lose

Additionally, North Koreans are also required to record any interactions with foreigners and report them to the authorities. If they return to the country with a sparse record of those encounters, they are likely to be assigned to work in a coal mine or on a construction project for approximately a month.

Last week, North Korea won a silver medal in a mixed doubles table tennis final, where Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong competed against China. Afterwards, they posed for a selfie with the Chinese champions and the South Korean table tennis players, who won the bronze medal, despite the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

Athletes could face physical punishment or detention if they lose, as happened in 1996 when the North Korean football team lost 5-3 to Portugal in the 1966 England World Cup. It is believed that the then-leader Kim Il-sung sentenced the players to one of the most infamous gulags.

More recently, North Korean defector Kim Hyeong-Soo, who fled the country in 2009, reported that athletes and coaches endured months of forced labor if they disappointed their leader. A year later, FIFA revealed that the North Korean national team was publicly humiliated after losing 7-0 to Portugal in the South Africa World Cup, and the coach was compelled to perform construction work.