Rifle shooting, grenade throwing, and speed marching. They sound like war drills, but surprisingly, they were part of a national physical education program introduced by the former Soviet Union in 1931. Known by the acronym GTO, the full name translates literally as "Ready for Labor and Defense." Under the Kim Il-sung regime, North Korea adopted GTO and created "Juche Sports," using it as a tool of governance. The Juche Sports principle was reflected in the 1972 revised constitution, which stipulated that "sports shall be popularized and national defense sports shall be developed to firmly prepare the entire people for labor and national defense." The Kim Jong-il regime also carried on Juche Sports.
After taking power in December 2011, North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un shifted the direction of the Juche Sports policy. He emphasized individual health and the popularization and modernization of sports in daily life. This marked a departure from the policies of previous regimes, which had prioritized collectivism and the enhancement of national defense and labor capacity. Kim himself has publicly visited sports-related sites at least dozens of times. This contrasts with his late father, who conducted on-site guidance in the sports sector only 14 times during his 17-year rule. The move appears to be part of an effort to build the image of a people-loving, new-generation leader.
Kim's "sports politics" reveals an intent to conceal the regime's weaknesses. While the country's battered economy is difficult to revive, results in international sports competitions can be produced in a short period. North Korea heavily propagandized when its delegation achieved its best performance in 20 years (four gold and two bronze medals) at the 2012 London Olympics. Its seventh-place finish at the 2014 Asian Games and the dispatch of a delegation to the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics were also packaged as achievements of the Kim Jong-un regime.
The North Korean women's football team will visit South Korea for the first time in 12 years to play against Suwon FC Women on the 20th. Unlike in economic rankings, North Korea (11th) is ahead of South Korea (19th) in the FIFA women's football rankings. While South Korea has pursued sports exchanges as part of the broader picture of inter-Korean reconciliation and unification, the North has always prioritized propaganda strategies aimed at system competition and regime preservation. There is no need to spell out the underlying intent of the Kim Jong-un regime — which has defined inter-Korean relations as those of two hostile states — in disclosing last month, ahead of this match, that Ri Il-hwan, the Workers' Party propaganda secretary and a key Kim aide, is concurrently serving as chairman of the State Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission.
