“And second, their will and their plans for the future is to break their records step by step, not in a rush, but improve themselves step by step, better and better. That was it.”Such is the hunger for knowledge of all things and people North Korean at these Olympics that one minute and 40 seconds of audio, including the volunteer translation, was pounced upon like gold: They spoke! Of that number, only Ryom and Kim genuinely earned a place at the Olympics, qualifying in the usual fashion. It is fitting that even North Korea immediately got into the true spirit of the Olympics by dispatching far more bureaucrats, minders, officials and hangers on than actual competitors — the total delegation reached 500. The group stayed at a five-star luxury hotel for three days, and according to the English-language Korea Joongang Daily, that cost isn’t figured in the $2.65-million South Korea is estimating it will spend for the North’s participation here.

Source: National Post February 15, 2018 11:48 UTC