IOC President Thomas Bach believes the IOC has "done its part in getting North Korea and South Korea together at the Pyeongchang Olympics," according to Stephen Wade of the AP. The ball is "now in the court of the divided nation." Bach said, "Now it's for politics to take over. You know sport cannot create peace. We cannot lead their political negotiations." Bach added that he is "hopeful the detente will continue" after the "Olympic flame has been extinguished" at the closing ceremony on Feb. 25. Bach has been "emotional about the Koreas and their presence together." He was born in West Germany and won a Gold Medal in fencing for a divided Germany (AP, 2/12).
The masks reportedly resemble Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un.GETTY IMAGES
MASK CONTROVERSY: The BBC reported North Korea's cheerleading squad "found itself in the middle of a controversy over masks they put on during a women's ice hockey match at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics." Some local reports said that the masks "resembled Kim Il-sung," the country's first leader and the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un. Conservative groups in South Korea said that this was an attempt by North Korea to "use the Games for propaganda." South Korea's Unification Ministry "sought to play down the incident," saying that the photo was just a "good-looking" man (BBC, 2/12).
TIGHT SURVEILLANCE: In Seoul, Kim Hyun-bin reported North Korean Olympic athletes are "under tight surveillance around the clock and have limited access to the rest of the athletes from different countries." A CNN report indicated that North Korea "deployed minders to follow its athletes to prevent them from defecting to the South." Around 500 North Koreans including athletes, officials, security officials and cheerleaders are in Pyeongchang to take part in the Winter Olympics. Han Seo-hee, a former cheerleader who defected from North Korea in '06, said that what was seen on screen "contradicts the reality of the North's delegation." She said, "The North Korean delegation is divided into three big groups. There are athletes, administrative officials and security members." Usually, athletes bunk with teammates; but North Korean athletes "share a bunk with minders who keep watch of their every move and jot down who they talk to." The minders "go to extreme lengths to guarantee" the athletes' "whereabouts at all times including following them to the bathroom." Han said that "no athletes will try to defect to the South." Han: "I wouldn't have even considered it. It will be the same for the cheerleading squad this time. They have family back home; they know if they defect, their family will be terrified and punished" (KOREA TIMES, 2/12).
MEDIA CRITIQUES: BUSINESS INSIDER's Alex Lockie wrote U.S. and int'l media "went gaga" over North Korea's "Princess," Kim Yo-jong, "despite her family's role in a massive, ongoing system of political oppression that has tortured and killed millions over decades." CNN, the N.Y. Times, the Washington Post, ABC and Reuters "were all criticised for surprisingly cheery depictions of Kim and the North Korean cheer squad dispatched to the Winter Olympics." A N.Y. Times tweet read, "Without a word, only flashing smiles, Kim Jong-un's sister outflanked Vice President Mike Pence in diplomacy." It got an "overwhelmingly negative response in the replies." Colorado Senator Cory Gardner responded by saying, "Is the 'newspaper of record' really this susceptible to charm and propaganda from murderous dictatorships? Reminder: there are currently over 100,000 prisoners enslaved in North Korea." Articles from The Washington Post and BBC that compared Kim to Ivanka Trump were "vilified for similar reasons." Usually "straight-laced" Reuters awarded Kim an imaginary "diplomacy gold medal." Eventually, BuzzFeed "struck back at the media's applause for Kim's charm offensive" with an article titled "PSA: Kim Jong Un's Sister Is Not Your New Fave Shade Queen. She's A Garbage Monster," and subtitled "What the hell is wrong with you people?" (BUSINESS INSIDER, 2/12).
ONLINE COMPLAINTS: DEADLINE's Bruce Haring wrote the "documented brutality of the North Korean regime was the focus" of "online complaints, with most commenters accusing media of overlooking the human rights violations in North Korea during their coverage of the visit." Alyssa Farah, a spokesperson for Pence, "also complained about the soft coverage." She recalled the death of Otto Warmbier, a U.S. college student who died last year after "being held prisoner for more than a year and a half in North Korea" (DEADLINE, 2/11).
TRUST ISSUES: The DAILY BEAST's Maxwell Tani wrote U.S. media outlets "focused intently on Kim Yo-jong's physical appearance and described her as a slick departure from the North's traditional bombast." She was not the only North Korean envoy to "score high marks from some media outlets." Sporting coordinated outfits and taking up entire sections of arena bleachers, North Korean cheerleaders "went viral on Friday when they appeared during a speed skating competition." Perhaps the "greater consequence of the media's omissions is the opening it provides for critics to further undermine trust in American news outlets" (DAILY BEAST, 2/11).
'DIPLOMATIC DANCE': THE HILL's Buck Sexton commented a CNN piece's opening line said, "If diplomatic dance were an event at the Winter Olympics, Kim Jong Un's younger sister would be favored to win gold." This is "bizarre and disgraceful." For one, Kim Yo-jong is "not a powerless dignitary or mere figurehead family member in North Korea." She is the director of the Propaganda & Agitation Department of the Worker's Party of Korea, where she "helps oversee the brainwashing and psychological terror apparatus of the North Korean state." The rush to praise the "diplomacy" of a woman whose country currently holds around 100,000 political prisoners in multi-generational concentration camps is "malicious stupidity." Kim is also a member of the Politburo and is "considered one of the most senior and trusted advisors" to Kim Jong-un. She is "specifically sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for her role in North Korea's crimes against humanity" (THE HILL, 2/12).
CELEBRATORY PRESS: CBS NEWS' Michael Graham wrote "stealing the show" is an "improvement over the Kims' usual approach -- for instance, using poison to assassinate family members at foreign airports." If the murder of her brother occurred as believed, it is "likely" the "captivating" Kim Yo-jong knew about it. When she is not being "celebrated by the press" for giving a "deadly side eye" to Pence (a Twitter comment by the Washington Post's Philip Bump he later deleted), Kim Yo-jong "oversees propaganda for the public executioners of the North Korean government." Korea expert Ethan Epstein said, "A key part of the North Korean system of enslaving people is total control of the media, of the information people are allowed to consume there. She is the director of the department that oversees it. If there is the perfect poster person for the war on the North Korean people's psyche being waged by the Kim regime, it's Kim Yo-jong." Even "more off-putting" is the media's "cheerleading for the regime's (literal) cheerleaders." Much "harder to find is reporting about who these women are: hand-picked by the regime, under constant surveillance." According to the Korea Herald, "Women with family members missing or living abroad do not qualify, as they could pose potential flight risks." Another South Korean newspaper reported 21 North Korea cheerleaders who traveled south in '06 for an int'l event and then talked about what they saw when they returned home "ended up in a prison camp" (CBS NEWS, 2/12).
ON THE TV BEAT:CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla said, “What a weekend of events, really where politics almost start to overshadow some of the events. A lot of debate over the weekend over just how dangerous this charm offensive is out of North Korea and whether or not even the media is beginning to glamorize some of (Kim Jong-un's sister’s) visit here. Olympics are probably what you would call a ‘foreign policy dove.’ The Games are about inclusion, they’re about communication, but obviously, seeing those north Korean cheerleaders at hockey over the weekend reminded people of just how dangerous it is to fall for this charm given what we know about their abuses, the way they treat their residents and their military aggression (“Worldwide Exchange,” CNBC, 2/12).
