Entertainment-starved North Koreans are getting a taste of World Cup fever thanks to an unusual form of international TV detente that was initiated in South Korea.
For the first time, North Korean state television is broadcasting World Cup matches that are being supplied for free by South Korea's Korea Broadcasting Commission.
The arrangement was made possible by a deal with Infront Sports & Media, the company responsible for the worldwide marketing and sales of the broadcast rights to the World Cup. The first match aired in the north was England versus Paraguay.
"The fans in North Korea are now able to enjoy world-class football and experience first hand how the FIFA World Cup brings nations together...The power of the FIFA World Cup is able to bring down barriers of all kinds," said Oliver Seibert, an executive director of Infront in a press release.
Experts are not so sure.
"I doubt that more than a handful of North Koreans are aware that their sworn enemies in the South are paying for this," said Mike Breen, author of Kim Jong-il: North Korea's Dear Leader.
The provision of free TV broadcasts is typical of the South's current policy toward its impoverished neighbor, which includes economic engagement and the unconditional provision of food and fertilizer. Seoul's policy has faced some domestic criticism and irked Washington, which takes a hard line toward Pyongyang's alleged nuclear arms programs.
During the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, the South sent video of matches to the North for broadcasting following the games, after early hopes that the North would be able to host some matches across the border were dashed.
North Korea was responsible for one of the biggest upsets in soccer history, when, at the World Cup in England in 1966, it beat Italy 1-0. The surviving team members are heroes and became the subject of British documentary The Game of their Lives (2002)--a project that allowed its producers, UK-based VeryMuchSo Prods., unprecedented levels of access to North Korea.
During the 2002 World Cup, some South Korean fans waved banners during their team's match against Italy, emblazoned with the legend Again, 1966! The magic worked: South Korea won in extra time.
The broadcast of the World Cup should be a good form of entertainment to the North Koreans.<br />
The broadcast of the World Cup should be seen as good news for the people of North Korea. Despite being a terrible dictator of his people, Kim Jong-Il at least has the decency to let his people watch the best sports game in the world.