North Korea table-tennis champs face punishment for ‘grinning’ in Olympics selfie with rivals

North Korean table-tennis silver medallists could face disciplinary action over a detail in an Olympic selfie.

The North Korean table-tennis silver medallists who practised some selfie love with the competition at the Paris Olympics could face disciplinary action for “grinning” from the podium.

North Korea’s Kim Kum-yong is under scrutiny for smiling in a victory photo next to South Korean athletes, who hail from an enemy country, the Telegraph reported.

Table-tennis partner Ri Jong-sik could face consequences for smiling with the gold medal winners from China and bronze medal winners from South Korea after stepping off the podium, the New York Post reports.

Bronze medallists South Korea’s Lim Jonghoon (L) takes a selfie picture with his mobile as he celebrates on the podium with: gold medallists China’s Wang Chuqin (rear R) and China’s Sun Yingsha (front L), silver medallists North Korea’s Ri Jong Sik (2nd L), and North Korea’s Kim Kum Yong (C) and bronze medallist and teammate South Korea’s Shin Yubin (rear R) at the end of their mixed table tennis doubles competition. Picture: Jung Yeon-je/AFP

The photo of the athletes from two warring countries went viral around the world for its moment of sportsmanship. But not in North Korea, which is helmed by dictator Kim Jong-un.

Since arriving home on Aug. 15, the North Korean team is undergoing a month-long “cleanse” from “exposure to contamination,” the Daily NK reported.

Such a “cleanse” is reportedly a three-stage ideological assessment process by the country’s ministry of sport, targeted at ridding the players of any remaining influence of “non-socialist” culture.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may be smiling, but his country’s table tennis champs could be penalised for “grinning” with competitors at the Olympics. Picture: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP

North Korean athletes were reportedly given “special instructions” not to interact with South Koreans or other foreign athletes at the Olympics, or face consequences.

If the players have contradicted the Central Party’s directives, they could be penalised, though the punishment wasn’t clear.

When North Korea’s football team failed to score a goal at the World Cup in 2010, they were publicly admonished and had to bear a “six-hour barrage of criticism,” according to the Telegraph.

The team’s coach was banished to construction work.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and has been reproduced with permission.

Originally published as North Korea table-tennis champs face punishment for ‘grinning’ in Olympics selfie with rivals