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N. Korea leader orders athletes to win five golds at Rio Games

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Kim Jong-un ordered his athletes to win at least five give gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympic. / Courtesy of Twitter

By Lee Han-soo

North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, has ordered the country’s athletes to win at least five gold medals at the Rio Olympics, according to Tokyo Shimbun, a Japanese daily newspaper, Tuesday.

The article said Kim had asked Choe Ryong-hae, Vice Chairman of the ruling Workers' Party and Chairman of the State Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission, to estimate how many medals the country could win at the Olympics.

When Choe reported three gold medals, six silver and six bronze, Kim denounced the number and demanded the team bring back at least five gold medals.

North Korea’s highest gold medal tally – four – was obtained at the Olympics in Barcelona (1992) and London (2012).