Olympic sponsor Samsung Electronics to provide smartphones to all athletes; North Korea’s National Olympic Committee also receives smartphones Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “It is important that they are not smuggled into North Korea”
The government stated on the 8th that “there is a possibility that this may be a violation of sanctions against North Korea” regarding the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s revelation that North Korean athletes also received Samsung Electronics smartphones, which were distributed to all athletes competing
in the Paris Olympics. On that day, a Ministry of Unification official met with reporters and said, “Resolution 2397 on sanctions against North Korea prohibits the supply, sale, and transfer of all electronic devices.”
The United Nations Security Council adopted the resolution in December 2017 in response to North Korea’s launch of the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
He added, “I understand that Samsung Electronics is sponsoring (the Olympics), and it is up to the IOC to decide whether to provide the Olympics or not,” and “The IOC, which is in charge of the Olympics, will ultimately have to answer this matter.”
In a regular briefing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lee Jae-woong stated, “In accordance with Paragraph 7 of UN Security Council Resolution 2397, the direct and indirect supply, sale, and transfer of all industrial machinery to North Korea is prohibited under this resolution, and smartphones are prohibited items under this resolution.” He continued,
“In order to prevent this incident from violating the resolution, it is important that the prohibited items in question are not smuggled into North Korea,” and “Our government is making the necessary diplomatic efforts in cooperation with the international community to ensure that the UN Security Council resolution is thoroughly implemented, and we will continue these efforts in the future.” He
did not specify what the “diplomatic efforts” were. When asked if South Korea had presented its opinion through diplomatic channels, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official responded, “It is true that we are taking action,” and “I believe the relevant authorities and the public and private sectors are all communicating (with France).” It has been reported that the government is not concluding that simply having a North Korean person in France with a Samsung smartphone constitutes a violation of sanctions. It is said that it is a violation of sanctions only if it is brought into North Korea. According to the U.S.-based Radio Free Asia (RFA), the IOC announced that the North Korean National Olympic Committee (NOC) received the smartphones distributed to the athletes by Samsung Electronics, an official Olympic sponsor, for their own athletes. It has not been confirmed whether the North Korean athletes actually received these smartphones. There were also concerns about sanctions violations surrounding the North Korean athletes receiving Samsung smartphones at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. In the end, it was decided that the smartphones would be provided on the condition that they would be returned upon their return, but the North Korean athletes refused to receive them. Since then, the sanctions on North Korea have not changed, but it has been reported that the IOC did not set a condition for return this time. The IOC told RFA that “the North Korean NOC, like other National Olympic Committees, is not obligated to return the (Samsung) phones.” Samsung Electronics reportedly provided a specially-made ‘Galaxy Z Flip 6’ and cases to all 17,000 athletes participating in the Paris Olympics. 파워볼사이트