Members of North Korean cheering squad arrive at a hotel in Inje, South Korea, February 7, 2018. Yonhap via REUTERS

Nick Pachelli, Esquire: What Happens If a North Korean Olympic Athlete Tries to Defect?

The games in Pyeongchang could be a geopolitical mess.

This past week in Pyeongchang, the press has been chasing the 22 North Korean athletes ahead of Opening Ceremonies on Friday night. The South Korean media, in particular has been relentless: pestering the North Koreans, studying their every move, taking pictures with trained high-powered lenses in every public space imaginable. The questions are benign, and they get no response, just disciplined smiles. Although a coach did say, “I’m happy we have been welcomed this way,” and a figure skater said she felt "Good."

It is a historic, albeit frenzied, moment. The last time South Korea hosted the Olympics, in 1988, North Korea bombed a Korean Air plane in protest of not being able to co-host the games. Now, the 280-person contingent is the largest group to cross the demilitarized zone in decades.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I would be shocked if a North Korean athlete defects. In a Stalinist type of regime where control is paramount .... these athletes are weaned with loyalty to the state being the number one requirement. And they are carefully selected with repercussions to all (the families, the ones who screened them,  superiors, etc.) if they fail in their job.