North Korea reportedly won’t let its Olympians have those free Samsung phones

The Olympics are a testament to the human spirit, physical greatness, nation pride and, of course, swag. So, so much swag. Because let’s be real, if you train your entire life for a once-every-four-years event, you’d damn well better get a nice goodie bag.

Samsung certainly did its part at this year’s games. As the Official Smartphone Partner for the Summer Olympics, the company handed out 12,500 Rio-branded editions of its Galaxy S7 Edge handset. Though, apparently not every athlete is actually walking away with the shiny new Android handset.

Radio Free Asia’s Korea bureau is reporting that, among the other reasons it’s tough to be a North Korean Olympian, the country’s officials are not allowing its participating athletes to walk away with the complimentary phone. The service cites a source that confirms that, while officials from the country accepted the 31 phones offered to the team’s athletes, they were reported not delivered to their intended recipients.

The report raises questions about whether the failure to deliver the handsets is tied to an attempt to limit the athletes’ communications.

via CNET