Kim Jong-un BANS Tottenham Hotspur matches from being proven in North Korea… however it’s not as a result of he is an Arsenal supporter
Dictator Kim Jong-un has banned Tottenham Hotspur matches from being broadcast in North Korea.
The nation’s 26 million citizens sit down to watch Premier League games before news bulletins but they will not be able to watch the North London club.
North Korea’s regime does not allow any games involving players from neighboring country South Korea to be shown.
This means Spurs, who are captained by Son Heung-min, are never shown on North Korea’s version of Match of the Day.
Last year, coverage also left out Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Kim Ji-soo, a defender who plays for Brentford.
This means Jong-un won’t be able to watch Tottenham and Son, who also captains South Korea’s national side, take on his favourite team Manchester United on Saturday evening.
Matches are reportedly shown four months after they are played on state-run KCTV meaning last August’s games were seen in January.
The games are shortened from 90 minutes to 60 and games are broadcasted before news bulletins.
Dictator Kim Jong-un’s regime does not allow any games involving players from neighboring country South Korea to be shown.
This means Spurs who are captained by Son Heung-min (pictured) are never shown on North Korea’s version of Match of the Day.
Last year, coverage also left out Hwang Hee-chan (pictured) of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Kim Ji-soo, a defender who plays for Brentford.
The findings came in a report by the independent US think tank, Stimson Center’s 38 North project.
North Korean television schedules are rife with propaganda, the report said, but sports is ‘one of the few moments each day when state TV is not trying to send an overt or underlying message to its viewers’.
Martyn Williams, who worked on the findings, said: ‘There wasn’t really any intention to the research except that we thought it was interesting. We just saw a lot of football on KCTV. It’s the main international sport they broadcast.’
The report added that in 2023, KCTV showed matches from the Premier League, Champions League and World Cup.
The previous year the country showed coverage of England’s top flight alongside Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga, France’s Ligue 1 and Italy’s Serie A.
However, North Korea does not have an agreement to show TV highlights of Premier League games as they happen.
