By Kang Hyun-kyung
Fifty-one North Korean athletes will compete in 11 events at this summer’s London Olympics, a smaller delegation than its 63-member contingent in Beijing in 2008.
The impoverished nation will find it challenging to fund the athletes as hard currency has dried up due to a combined result of multi-layered international sanctions, severe weather conditions and poor management of the economy. From a North Korean point of view, the financial cost of competing in the games is huge.
So the question arises: How will the cash-strapped regime pay for the national team’s expensive trip?
A North Korean defector in Seoul said that remittances from North Korean workers abroad will provide the financing.
Kim Tae-san, now an owner of a private English academy for middle and high school students in western Seoul, said the North’s sports committee responsible for sending athletes’ to global sporting events runs a trading company.
“The sports committee will fund the athletes’ trip to the London Olympics. If its financial resources are limited, then the government will pay the remaining part,” he said.
In 2002 Kim, 61, defected to the South from the Czech Republic where he was in charge of a joint North Korea-Czech manufacturing business, producing shoes. Before this, he had worked in several Southeast Asian nations as a guest worker, which the North calls an “economic worker” referring to a person sent to a foreign nation to earn hard currency.
Tens of thousands of North Koreans are working overseas to send remittances to their homeland. The vast majority of them are based in the northeastern part of China. These workers are reportedly hired by Chinese manufacturing companies.
Some 20,000 North Korean loggers are working in the far eastern part of Russia under the surveillance of the North Korean authorities, enduring harsh weather conditions.
According to media reports, these loggers earn approximately $200 a month, but they only keep 10 percent of their income as the North Korean regime requires them to remit the remaining 90 percent in the name of taxes.
North Korea’s hard currency collected from remittances has sharply decreased over the past decade. South Korea’s suspension of the Mt. Geumgang tourism program has partly contributed to the reduction.
Earlier this year, Kim Jong-un was quoted as ordering his deputies to increase the number of guest workers abroad. The North reportedly plans to send a further 120,000 people to work in foreign countries.
“Due to the tight budget, the North usually sends a small team to the Olympics. The size of the team is less than 100,” Kim said.
The 63 competitors at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was the highest number since 64 appeared at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Kim said the main reason behind the North’s selectively-chosen small team is financial.
“Sending 100 athletes will put a great deal of financial strain on the cash-strapped North. Athletes who are really competitive and have a high chance to win medals are sent to global sporting events,” he said.
The vast majority of North Koreans are not aware when the Olympic Games are held because they are not broadcast.
The late North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il was known to be keen on football. His son and current leader, Jong-un, is reportedly a huge fan of basketball.