Nine days after the Paris 2024 Olympics’ opening ceremony, North Korea began airing partially recorded broadcasts, likely due to broadcasting rights issues.
On July 6, the South Korean Ministry of Unification’s North Korea Information Portal reported that the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) broadcast the mixed doubles table tennis round of 16 match against Japan in a 50-minute recorded format on July 4.
They aired a 35-minute broadcast of the women’s 10-meter platform synchronized diving event the following day.
Previously, North Korea had briefly reported the opening of the Olympics on July 26 and the news of medal wins through the Workers’ Party’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun. However, this is the first time they have broadcast recorded footage.
The table tennis and diving events broadcast on TV are significant as North Korea won early medals in these sports at the Olympics. On July 30, Ri Jong-sik and Kim Kum-yong secured a silver medal in mixed double table tennis, and Kim Mi-rae and Jo Jin-mi added another silver in the women’s synchronized 10 meter platform diving.
Interestingly, North Korea chose to broadcast the round of 16 table tennis match against Japan, where they triumphed over the world’s second-ranked team, rather than the final match where they lost to China.
The commentator highlighted, “Our team, consisting of Ri Jong-sik and Kim Kum-yong, is ranked 16th in the world, while the Japanese team is ranked 2nd.” This choice appears to emphasize their victory over a higher-ranked opponent.
However, the limited footage might be due to the lack of broadcasting rights. Historically, South Korean broadcasters, who hold the broadcasting rights for the Korean Peninsula, have provided these rights to North Korea on humanitarian grounds. This support has become increasingly difficult to obtain.
As a result, North Korea has occasionally resorted to using footage from other countries’ broadcasts, leading to suspicions of “Pirate broadcasting.” In the recent broadcasts, the scoreboards in the upper left corner were obscured, with North Korea adding its own scoreboard at the bottom center to prevent identifying the original broadcaster or country.
North Korea typically begins reporting on the Olympics within a few days of the opening. KCNA covered the Rio 2016 Olympics daily from August 9, four days after the opening ceremony, until August 24. During the London 2012 Olympics, they began reporting on July 29, two days after the opening, and continued daily until August 13, with occasional broadcasts extending to October 3.
However, North Korea did not participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, citing concerns over the spread of COVID-19. This marked their first absence from the Olympics since the 1988 Seoul Games, resulting in no Olympic coverage during the event.
BY JAESUNG BAE, YOUNGNAM KIM [hongdoya@joongang.co.kr]
