IOC confirms North Korean athletes did not receive Samsung phones

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed on Thursday that North Korean athletes at the Paris Olympics did not receive Samsung smartphones — the new Galaxy Z Flip 6 — provided to all 10,500 competitors.

“We can confirm that the athletes of the National Olympic Committee of DPRK have not received the Samsung phones,” an IOC spokesperson said. Earlier in the day, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry emphasized the importance of preventing prohibited items from entering North Korea under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2397. The resolution, enacted in 2017, bans the supply, sale or transfer of “all industrial machinery,” including smartphones, to North Korea due to its nuclear program. Pyongyang has 14 athletes participating in seven sports in this year’s Olympics.