Will North Korean athletes competing in the Paris Olympics be provided with smartphones made by South Korea's Samsung?

North Korea will be participating in the Paris Olympics, which begins on the 26th of this month. The national team arrived at Paris airport on the 21st. North Korea has decided not to participate in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak.
As of the 18th (local time), there are 16 North Korean athletes registered in the tournament's system, including those competing in gymnastics, wrestling and swimming.
In the midst of this, attention is being drawn in South Korea to "something" related to "smartphones" and the "North Korean athletes."
North Korea's Olympic Committee will not send athletes to the 2021 Tokyo Games
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended North Korea until the end of 2022 due to the violation of the Olympic rules. However, the suspension has now been lifted and North Korea will be participating in the Paris Olympics, which begins on the 26th.
The team departed Pyongyang by air on the 20th of this month. At the Chinese airport where they stopped, the athletes, dressed in white jackets with the North Korean flag on the chest and blue skirts and pants, greeted the press.
The group arrived at Paris airport on the 21st. According to Kyodo News, they were held up at the airport for about three hours after landing. It took some time for some of the players to complete the procedures.
"The team left through a gate that was not the usual exit and boarded a bus. Several members of a French organization that hopes for friendly relations between France and North Korea were there to welcome them," Kyodo said.
According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, as of the 18th (local time), the North Korean athletes were registered in the wrestling system.
Three athletes each in swimming, diving and table tennis, two in boxing, one each in gymnastics, athletics and judo are registered. Meanwhile, South Korea's Samsung Electronics has announced that it will be registering about 17,000 athletes from all participating athletes in the tournament.
The company will provide smartphones to people who have not been approved by the Olympic Games. The smartphones will be specially made for athletes, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 Olympic Edition, and medalists will be able to take "selfies" on the podium using the smartphones.
For the first time, athletes will be allowed to bring personal items, including mobile phones, to the awards ceremony at previous Olympic Games. However, this year, Samsung-supplied smartphones will be allowed.
The company is one of the IOC's top sponsors, with a contract running until 2028. The specially made smartphone will feature the gold logo of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The phone is decorated with the Bremm and Samsung logos. It also includes the official Olympic app, "Paris 2024," which contains information on the games and tourist and lifestyle information for the city of Paris, which will be useful for athletes.
The equipment is also equipped with a two-year international warranty through the company's official service center, allowing players to continue using the equipment even after returning to their home country.
Meanwhile, South Korea is paying close attention to whether the North Korean team will receive the smartphone. North-South relations are currently in a critical state. Recently, North Korea has been known to throw filth at South Korea.
In response, the South Korean military began broadcasting propaganda to North Korea using loudspeakers near the North-South military demarcation line.
The purpose of the program is to appeal to the North Korean soldiers that it is superior to the US military, to criticize the North Korean regime, to broadcast news from South Korea and other countries, and to play South Korean songs, in an attempt to unsettle the North Korean soldiers.
Attention is focused on whether the North Korean athletes will be able to possess South Korean items. It is also expected that the organizing committee will not provide them to the North Korean team in the first place.
Heo was also provided to athletes at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, but at the time the organising committee announced that it would not be provided to athletes from North Korea and Iran, countries subject to UN sanctions.
The policy was later amended to include loaning the equipment only during the tournament and requiring them to be returned when they returned home, but the North Korean team refused to accept the loan at all.
Regarding how Samsung will handle the Games, the IOC and the Tokyo Organising Committee will ultimately decide whether to provide the service.