Correction at 2120 KST: The final decision not to gift the smartphones was made by the Organising Committee for the PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Games (POCOG), not the Ministry of Unification (MOU). The article has been amended to reflect that fact.

North Korean athletes involved in the upcoming Winter Olympics will not receive a free Samsung Galaxy Note 8 for their participation, sources with knowledge of the issue told NK News on Monday.

Samsung Electronics, which is sponsoring the games, has agreed to gift around 4000 new smartphones to all athletes participating in PyeongChang, as well as to International Olympic