North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly enforced a ban on the broadcast of Tottenham Hotspur matches within the country due to the presence of South Korean football star Son Heung-min.
As the captain of Spurs, Son Heung-min represents South Korea, a nation that North Korea has maintained a long-standing political divide with, leading to strict censorship policies that prohibit televised games featuring South Korean players.
The censorship does not only apply to Tottenham matches but also extends to other English clubs like Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brentford, which feature South Korean footballers Hwang Hee-chan and Kim Ji-soo, respectively.
Historically, North Korea’s state-run television heavily regulates international sports broadcasts. Premier League matches, when aired, are often edited into 60-minute highlight packages and shown months after their actual occurrence, usually before government-controlled news bulletins.
Despite the rigid control over media, football remains one of the few forms of entertainment available to North Korean citizens that offers a break from state-driven propaganda.
According to a report by SunSport, Martyn Williams from the Stimson Center, an independent U.S. think tank that investigates North Korean media and sports broadcasting, observed:
“We recently saw an increased amount of football coverage on KCTV. It remains the primary international sport that the country’s state television continues to showcase.”
As a result of the newly imposed ban, North Korean football enthusiasts will be unable to watch Tottenham’s upcoming Premier League fixture against Manchester United. Ironically, Kim Jong-un himself is rumored to be a fan of the Red Devils.
Previously, North Korean state TV has aired top-flight European leagues such as the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, and Serie A.
However, in 2023, reports suggested that broadcasts had been significantly reduced, leaving only selected Premier League matches, UEFA Champions League games, and FIFA World Cup coverage as the remaining international football content available to North Korean viewers.