To give or not to give Samsung phones to North Koreans

Here is an Olympian question that a Pyeongchang Winter Olympics organizer is wrestling with: to give or not to give the Samsung Galaxy phone to 22 North Korean athletes.

Olympic Partner Samsung Electronics has donated some 4,000 Galaxy Note 8 phones for athletes and officials at the International Olympic Committee so they can document every moment and share their memories.

But the Winter Olympic Games organizer is in limbo whether giving the device that costs at least $1,000 to North Koreans would violate global sanctions designed to punish their government’s nuclear ambitions. It’s also unclear if the phones would work on networks inside North Korea.

The Galaxy Note 8 Olympic Games phone distributed to athletes is a limited edition and not for sale, but Samsung’s Note series are some of the most expen- sive available in the market. The United Nations sanctions ban supplying or transferring luxury items to North Korea or to North Korean nationals.

The International Olympic Committee has advised the organizer that North Korean athletes can use the phone during the Olympics but must return them before their departure.

Even after the IOC’s response, the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee is still unsure what to do. “Somebody should make a clear call but there is no one who can,” said Sung Baik-yoo, the committee’s spokesman. “So we have not given the phone (to North Koreans) and we cannot give the phone until we confirm this is not a violation of the UN sanctions.”

The committee should also take into consideration that all athletes are to be treated equally regardless of their nationality, Sung said.