North Korea’s cheerleaders have returned to Pyongyang amid claims they are forced to have sex with Kim Jong-un’s top aides.
The 230-strong, all-female cheering squad could be seen in the stands during the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang as they backed the country’s small contingent of athletes.
But while Kim Jong-un’s ‘army of beauties’ proved a high profile addition to the Games, defectors have claimed that the women are used as sex slaves in their homeland.
Photos show the squad being transported by bus towards the border between the two Koreas.
North Korea’s cheerleaders (pictured) have returned to Pyongyang amid claims they are forced to have sex with Kim Jong Un’s top aides
The 230-strong, all-female cheering squad could be seen in the stands during the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang (pictured) as they backed the country’s small contingent of athletes
While Kim Jong-un’s ‘army of beauties’ proved a high profile addition to the Games, defectors have claimed that the women are used as sex slaves in their homeland. Three squad members are pictured arriving at the inter-Korea transit office today
Their deployment at the sports extravaganza was labelled as a ‘charm offensive’ in order to deter the international community’s concerns over its nuclear testing.
But yesterday, defectors claimed that the cheerleaders are made to provide sexual services for the Workers’ Party of Korea, the communist political party that every North Korean citizen is expected to show allegiance to.
It has been said that these women are under constant surveillance and are forbidden from interacting with anyone other than their male minders, moving from event, to dining room and into bed, always two-by-two.
One North Korean defector Kim Hyung-soo, 54, told Bloomberg: ‘In one word, athletes are Kim Jong Un’s sports “slaves”.
‘Even the coaches are slaves to Kim Jong Un, and to the North Korean regime. Because in North Korea, Kim Jong Un and the regime is the entire world. The athletes and the cheerleaders, too.
‘They select people who are unlikely to defect, and people with loyal backgrounds.’
Their deployment at the sports extravaganza was labelled as a ‘charm offensive’ in order to deter the international community’s concerns over its nuclear testing
Photos show the squad being transported by bus towards the border between the two Koreas
Pictured, North Korean cheerleaders pose for a photograph during the Women’s Giant Slalom at the Yongpyong Alpine Centre during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang
Lee So-yeon, 42, another defector who spoke to Bloomberg said: ‘North Korea’s art troupe came here [South Korea] and performed with dances and songs, and it might seem like a fancy show on the outside.
‘However, they also have to go to parties and provide sexual services, that sort of pain also follows.
‘They go to the central Politburo party’s events [WPK], and have to sleep with the people there, even if they don’t want it.
‘Those sorts of human-rights infringements take place, where women have to follow what they are told to do with their bodies.’
Pictured, North Korean cheerleaders at the men’s giant slalom during the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games at Yongpyong Alpine Centre
The troupe had been seen in some circles as a propaganda victory.
MailOnline’s reporter in Pyeongchang was hustled away after approaching one of the cheerleader’s body guards at the Kwandong Hockey Centre.
A masked security operative said: ‘Move on, move on. You must go now.’
The North Korea regime was in breach of Olympics rules allowing reporters to speak to officials freely at venues.
The International Olympic Committee, for its part, has been complicit in allowing this type of propaganda but also with the knowledge of the lack of freedom given to the cheerleaders.