Olympic medallists from North Korea, South Korea and China pose for a selfie after the mixed doubles table tennis awards ceremony.
China's Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin beat North Korea's Ri Jong-sik and Kim Kum-yong in the final to win the gold medal, while South Korea's Lim Jong-hun and Shen You-bin beat Hong Kong to take the bronze medal.
South Korean athlete Lim Jeong-hun took a photo of all the medallists together, all beaming with smiles, taken with a South Korean-made Samsung mobile phone.
“When they were introduced as silver medallists, I congratulated them,” Lim said after the photo was published by South Korean media.
South and North Korea both claim to be the sole legitimate governments of the Korean peninsula, which has been divided since September 1945, leading to military tensions between the two countries and a heavily guarded border.
Prior to this tournament, all personal possessions, including mobile phones, were banned at medal ceremonies and photography was only allowed for official media.
All six mixed doubles medal winners pose for a selfie (Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
But an agreement between Samsung and the IOC allows the company to use its products during the ceremonies. “The Galaxy Z Flip 6 folds, allowing athletes to take creative selfies from different angles,” Samsung said in a press release this week.
The Athlete 365 app comes preloaded on Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip6, which was distributed to competing athletes ahead of the official launch earlier this month, and allows for the addition of an athlete's “victory selfie.”
The photo was shared just days after 143 South Korean athletes were mistakenly introduced as being from North Korea during the Olympic opening ceremony.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was forced to express “deep apologies” after the South Korean delegation's boat was announced as “Democratic People's Republic of Korea” as it passed the Seine. South Korea's official name is the Republic of Korea.
North Korea fielded 16 athletes in their first delegation since 2016 (they were not represented at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and were duly introduced in both French and English later in the program.
(Top photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)