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North Korea first televised the Olympics 2 days after it finished, showing 70 minutes of a soccer match with no commentary

Sam Cooper   

North Korea first televised the Olympics 2 days after it finished, showing 70 minutes of a soccer match with no commentary
Sports1 min read
  • The first Tokyo Olympics broadcast has been shown in North Korea, two days after the closing ceremony.
  • North Koreans were able to watch 70 minutes of a women's soccer match between Team GB and Chile.
  • It was in low quality with no commentary, raising suspicions as to how broadcaster KCT acquired it.

As the rest of the world moves on from the Tokyo Olympics, citizens of North Korea are just getting their first tastes of the games.

NK News, an American news outlet focused on the Asian nation, reports that a soccer match between the women's teams of Team GB and Chile was aired on Korean Central Television (KCT) on Tuesday, two days after the Olympics had finished and almost three weeks after the game itself was played.

NK News reports that the broadcaster only showed 70 minutes of the game.

The game finished 2-0 to Team GB with goals in the 18th and 73rd minute, the latter of which was likely missed by North Korean fans.

The news website also said that the soccer was shown in low quality and had no commentary, bringing into question how the channel acquired the footage.

North Koreans do not have access to the internet or international TV channels, so Tuesday's broadcast would have been the first time they were able to watch any part of the games

NK News says in previous years, another broadcaster, Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, was able to offer footage through a partnership with the South Korean broadcaster Seoul Broadcasting System.

North Korea did not send any athletes to the games, citing the COVID pandemic as the reason for skipping the games.

At Rio 2016, the country won seven medals including two gold in the women's 75kg weightlifting and the men's vault.

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