We’re not tortured if we lose, says North Korea striker Pak Kwang-ryong
The Lausanne player is disappointed with media reports about his country, saying they are simply not true
North Korea players have nothing to fear from authorities – even if they fail to perform on the field, say their top striker and coach.
Visions of torture and jail terms for poor performances by a harsh Kim Jong-un regime are simply myths, said striker Pak Kwang-ryong and North Korea’s Norwegian coach Jorn Andersen – in Hong Kong for their AFC Asian Cup qualifier against the home side today.
Pak, one of the three overseas-based players in the squad, was at first reluctant to discuss the matter because “I don’t want to say [anything] about my country”.
But the 24-year-old, who plays for Swiss Super League side Lausanne, eventually opened up and said: “Everyone can say something about our country, but that’s not true. Only one thing, I love my country and I love every citizen.”
After North Korea conceded 32 goals at the 2010 World Cup – the most by any team at the South Africa tournament – reports emerged saying North Korean players were subjected to “harsh ideological criticism” and their coach Kim Jong-hun was publicly humiliated and sentenced to hard labour. Andersen, who was appointed North Korea coach last year, said he was disappointed by these reports.
“What I can tell you from what I read what many other people write about North Korea [is that they] are mostly wrong,” he said. “When they write these wrong things, they have to think about it first. I have lived in Pyongyang for a year and I have no problems. I don’t understand why other people write these things.”