Even though not every athlete can win a medal, all Olympians at the ongoing Paris Games can look forward to a brand new Galaxy Z Flip 6 smartphone. estimated for about $1,200 a piece, courtesy of event sponsor Samsung.

But now Seoul officials have expressed concerns that the South Korean technology giant’s giveaway could violate UN sanctions. The reason: the recipients include the 14 North Korean athletes competing in Paris.

“There is a possibility that this violates the sanctions against North Korea,” an official from the Unification Ministry told reporters on Thursday. “However, the final answer on whether it is a violation should come from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).”

The South Korean Foreign Ministry responded similarly, but without specifying whether the IOC, Samsung Electronics, the Olympic Committee of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or even the North Korean athletes themselves were guilty of violating the sanctions.

“The UN Security Council prohibits the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of industrial machinery to North Korea under Resolution 2397Paragraph 7 – and smartphones are subject to this embargo,” the ministry’s press office said NK News.

“Our government, in cooperation with the international community, continues to make the necessary diplomatic efforts to ensure the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions.”

The South Korean government responded after Radio Free Asia reported Citing the IOC, the North Korean National Olympic Committee said that the North Korean National Olympic Committee had also received the smartphones.

The IOC reportedly stated that the North Korean athletes were not required to return the phones, just as other athletes were not.

While it may technically be a violation, sanctioning authorities are likely to be lenient on the giveaway due to the special circumstances of the Olympics, a South Korean sanctions expert at a state institute said. NK News.

“This is not a typical case of person-to-person transmission, but a special situation related to the Olympic Games. Although such transmissions usually require authorization, given the unique context of the Olympic Games, I do not believe the UN Sanctions Committee would have major objections here,” the expert said, requesting anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press.

“They didn’t get (prior approval), so strictly speaking it’s a violation. But even if South Korea or others raise this issue, the UN committee would probably conclude that while it should have been reported beforehand, it’s not a serious violation.”

A similar raffle for smartphones had already caused controversy at the Olympic Games.

Samsung was supposed to provide smartphones worth $1,100 to all athletes at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February 2018. However, Iran and North Korea were initially excluded from this due to international sanctions against these two countries.

Iran has even officially called the South Korean ambassador in Tehran to explain and to apologize.

In the end the IOC changed It stated that it was its intention to make them available to all athletes, but urged the North Koreans not to take them home with them but to return them before they leave. The DPRK Olympic Committee According to reports declined the offer and did not answer the phones.

Edited by Bryan Betts