Kim Jong-un’s athletes really will strike gold if they win a medal at the Olympics – they’ll be given a free apartment and a Mercedes Benz.
A defector has revealed that a medal of any colour will also see the sportsperson handed honorary titles of National Hero and Hero of Labour.
They are also handed plum jobs when they retire from sport.
Kim Jong-un (pictured during a military parade last year) has promised athletes they will be given a free apartment and a Mercedes Benz if they win a gold medal at the Winter Games in Pyongyang, South Korea, next month
But the odds are against any of Kim’s current crop of 22 Olympic competitors bagging a free flat in the capital Pyongyang at next month’s Winter Games in South Korea.
For the hermit state has won just two medals – a silver and a bronze and both in skating – since 1964.
Former NK athlete Lee Ji Young, now living in South Korea, revealed that kids with Olympic potential were handpicked at four for brutal training regimes and moved to Pyongyang.
And they are not allowed to get married until they are in their mid-20s – though they are paid more than three times the salary of the average worker and given better food rations.
Olympic and government officials from North Korea and South Korea met at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Switzerland last week to discuss how they will work together during the Games. President of the IOC Thomas Bach (centre) greeted North Korea’s sports minister Kim Il Guk (left) and the South’s minister of culture, sports and tourism Do Jong-hwan (right)
He told website Daily NK: ‘Athletes in North Korea are provided housing, food, uniforms, sports equipment, and other things, but the national-level athletes have access to substantially better facilities than athletes outside the capital.
‘They also have access to about as much meat as they want.
‘And while life for athletes was good before, it has gotten even better under Kim Jong-un.
‘This is because he seems to love sports like skiing, basketball, and others. So the status of athletes has naturally risen due to his support for sports and athletics.
‘Not many North Korean athletes have won medals in international competitions, so probably because it’s rare, the award is substantial.
‘First, they will receive Workers’ Party membership and the honorary titles of ‘National Hero’ and ‘Hero of Labour.
But Conservative activists (pictured) burned a large photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as the head of an extremely popular girl band Hyon Song Wol passed by during her visit to Seoul, South Korea’s capital, earlier this week
‘Then they will be given an apartment in Pyongyang for themselves and their family, and sometimes even a foreign luxury car like a Mercedes Benz.
‘An individual’s life can completely change if they win a medal, but for the most part, athletes consider the act of competing abroad itself as most important.
‘The athletes will consider it an honour and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
‘Frst, national athletes are not allowed to get married until a certain age. You have to just devote your entire life to the country throughout this time.
‘But at least the life of an athlete is stable and secure.
‘And when they retire from competition, they almost always move on to become sports club directors, coaches, or work in other staff positions.
‘There are also some cases where they move on to other elite positions such as a foreign currency-trader.’
North Korea’s record at the Summer Games is far better with a total of 56 medals – including 16 golds.