Lips sealed, but youth impossible to hide: NK athletes show 2 faces at Asian Games

Post-match, the North Korean women's football team lingered at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan, well after their 8-0 victory over Myanmar on September 17. It was approximately 15 minutes before the opposing team's players departed that the North Korean locker room door finally creaked open. Insiders witnessed the young athletes swiftly grabbing snacks from the organizing committee, eagerly stuffing them into brown paper bags.

Their enthusiasm was palpable as they interacted with the snacks, but upon sighting Korean reporters gathering in the mixed zone, their behavior shifted dramatically. Seemingly without reason, the players adopted stern expressions, and their eyes avoided direct contact with the journalists. Refusing to utter a single word about their remarkable triumph, they hurriedly exited the stadium, brown paper bags in tow.

North Korea, a nation participating in the Asian Games for its inaugural time in Japan, is notorious for exerting strict control over its athletes throughout the event. According to an official attending the games, the players' behavior showcased the regime's efforts to suppress any potential glimpses of youthful vitality that might contradict the state's image of infallibility.