North Korea’s athletes were all smiles as fireworks lit up the Paris night sky at the Olympic closing ceremony, waving the red-starred national flag while celebrating another Games where the impoverished and isolated country punched well above its weight.

The 14-member contingent did not win any gold medals at the DPRK’s first Summer Olympics since Rio, but the country’s six-medal haul still represented a partial success after four years away from international competition during the pandemic.

Rankings that adjust for factors like per capita income place North Korea near the top of the standings at Paris, and Yong Ja