Just days after North Korea publicly executed two teenagers for distributing South Korean movies, state television broadcasted the Brazil vs. South Korea FIFA World Cup match in Qatar in an attempt to humiliate South Korea’s 1-4 loss to Brazil.

ANY OPPORTUNITY TO HUMILIATE SOUTH KOREA

As the world congratulated South Korea for its historical win against Portugal and reaching the round of 16, Pyongyang’s Korean Central Television also made a historical move by airing its first ever football (soccer) game featuring the South Korean team and even naming the ROK players at the start of the match. Images showing the devastated looks of South Korean players after the team’s loss to Brazil and elimination were also included in the footage.

Stimson Center fellow, Martyn Williams, described the North’s move as petty and told NK News that “It’s obviously not by chance that the one South Korean game shown is the one that put them out of the World Cup.”

A HISTORY OF NORTH KOREA’S WORLD CUP WINS?

Since its leader, Kim Jong-un, is known to be a football fan who supports Manchester United, it is no surprise that “foreign influences” like the World Cup could be broadcasted on national television, even if it involves receiving its feed from South Korean networks. The North Korean leadership has also historically made an exception for sports despite risks concerning outside influences. For instance, its founding leader, Kim Il-sung, had emphasized the role of physical culture and sports and their development during the Sixth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea in 1980. A North Korean company had also launched a 3D football simulation game in 2017 which featured top football stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo.

North Korea had previously participated in two World Cup games in 1966 and 2010. In 2010, North Korea declared a 1-0 win against Brazil when in fact, Brazil defeated North Korea 2-1. According to North Korean state television, the hermit country’s football players made it through to the games during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. A video even showed Kim waving to fans in Brazil as they celebrated North Korea’s rounds of victory against Japan 7-1, the U.S. 4-0 and China 2-0.

TV CENSORSHIP IN NORTH KOREA

According to Williams, “North Korean TV is tightly controlled and programmed, to the extent that most programming aligns with directives from the Propaganda and Agitation Department.” Therefore, live television is rarely an option, particularly after its failed experimental live broadcast during the 2010 World Cup. State television aired North Korea’s match against Portugal live after the team performed better than expected against five-time champion Brazil, which turned into a sporting humiliation when the country witnessed the DPRK team lose 7-0 in real time. The game brought so much shame to the nation that the entire football team, their coach and 400 sports personnel received an official reprimand for losing and “betraying” their leader.

Similarly, other major international tournaments such as the Olympics and Wimbledon are often aired weeks or even months after the games take place to allow time for internal editing and censorship. The much shorter delay in airing South Korea’s game this time shows how desperately Pyongyang wishes to shame and embarrass its neighbor.