From sharing podium to hiding smartphones: NK athletes under watch in Nagoya

North Korea utilized the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games as a platform to display its athletic achievements on a global scale, while simultaneously fostering a sense of national pride and unity among its citizens. However, the young North Korean athletes participating in the Games have been subjected to strict surveillance and control measures while in Japan.

According to this newspaper's investigation, the North Korean delegation has held frequent self-criticism sessions, completely isolated themselves from the outside world and limited contact with individuals near competition sites, and confined athletes to their accommodations during non-competition hours. During weightlifting events, held at open air venues, self-criticism sessions took place in the presence of outsiders, whereas at soccer fields, shooting ranges, gymnastics venues and canoe courses, North Korean athletes were completely sequestered from the broader Games atmosphere.

Even when residing in accommodations provided by the organizing committee alongside athletes from other countries, North Korean athletes remained separated from the international exchange and harmony that the Games intended to promote.