There Is No Joy in Pyongyang ...

Many international soccer players return home from international competition bruised and defeated, with media scorn and collective sighs of dissatisfaction. But North Korea has upped the ante on how to treat losing teams, subjecting its World Cup players to a six-hour excoriation for “betraying” the nation.

The public reprimand followed North Korea’s inglorious exit from the World Cup in South Africa after losing all three of its group-stage games. —JCL

The Guardian:

England’s failed footballers should count themselves lucky that their ignominious World Cup exit was met with little more than a public mauling by the media.

Their counterparts from North Korea, who lost all three of their group games, have been subjected to a six-hour excoriation for “betraying” the communist nation’s ideological struggle, according to reports.

There are even fears for the safety of the team coach, Kim Jung-hun, who was accused of betraying the son and heir of the regime’s “dear leader,” Kim Jong-il.

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Wikimedia Commons

North Korea’s team, in red, takes on Brazil in the group stage of the 2010 World Cup.