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SPORTS Thursday 18 January 2018

In this Feb. 10, 2006, file photo, Korea flag-bearer’s Bora Lee and Jong-In Lee, carrying a unification
flag lead their teams into the stadium during the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Turin,
Italy. Associated Press
Column: Kim Jong Un plays

the Olympics like a champion

By JOHN LEICESTER all been won, the world will tions but cut off from the
Driver Bernhard Ten Brinke, of Netherlands, and co-driver Michel AP Sports Columnist almost certainly find itself far more forgiving sporting
Perin, of France, race their Toyota during stage 11 of the 2018 North Korea suddenly mak- back at square one: Wor- world, too. That takes some
Dakar Rally between Belen and Chilecito/Fiambala, Argentina,
Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. ing nice for the duration rying again about whether doing.
Associated Press of next month’s Olympic Kim and U.S. President Don- Instead, by sending sing-
Games in South Korea, ald Trump are just a misstep ers, dancers, an orchestra
Ten Brinke wins 11th putting seven decades or an angry tweet away and a cheering squad, the
of enmity on hold for 16 from reaching for those North gets to whoop it up at
Dakar stage, Sainz days with its offers to send nuclear buttons they’ve the South’s Olympic party,
athletes and entertainers bragged about.
ditches its pariah costume
across their heavily mili-
Because North Korea has for a couple of weeks, and
keeps overall lead tarized border, won’t fun- been so closed for so long, temporarily confuses and
distracts the world from its
damentally change what trying to determine the in-
happens next. tentions of Kim Il Sung, Kim stated goal of perfecting
CHILECITO, Argentina (AP) from the previous stage When the Olympic flame Jong Il and now Kim Jong and growing its nuclear ar-
— Toyota driver Bernhard and now leads second- has been extinguished, Un has often been an ex- senal. Not a bad trade-off.
ten Brinke won the 11th place Peterhansel by North Korean leader Kim ercise in guesswork. But it’s The few athletes the North
stage of the Dakar Rally on 50:45. Jong Un will continue to safe to say they all shared is likely to send will almost
Wednesday, as defending “Fiambala is a classic Da- use every tool at his dispos- the same priority: the surviv- certainly return home emp-
champion Stephane Pe- kar special,” Sainz said. al, including his gulags and al of themselves and their ty-handed.
terhansel and his Peugeot “This is where I lost the Da- thought police, to maintain regime. Kim’s unexpected But Kim can lean on his
teammate Carlos Sainz kar in 2009. I started the his iron grip on power, de- offer earlier this month to mouthpieces in the North’s
continued their duel for stage with a margin of 30 manding unfailing loyalty send a delegation to the entirely state-controlled
the overall lead. minutes and ended up in from each and every North games in Pyeongchang media to pen fawning
Ten Brinke dominated the a hole, so it’s great to put it Korean, just as his grandfa- must be seen through that paeans anyway.
stage, finishing more than behind me.” ther and father did before lens. From his perspective, The South, for its part,
four minutes ahead of Peu- KTM rider Toby Price of him. an Olympic truce is a low- would have looked churl-
geot drivers Cyril Despres, Australia won the bike To preserve the dynasty risk gambit that helps the ish by refusing Kim’s out-
Sainz and Peterhansel. race stage and moved they handed down, one No. 1 purpose of his regime: stretched hand, even as
The Dutchman needed up to third in the overall where the Kims and their buying more time for Kim. he holds missiles in the oth-
4 hours, 10 minutes, 54 standings, as his team- trusted lieutenants ruled Having no part at all in the er one. Should this thaw,
seconds to cover the 280 mate Joan Barreda Bort across decades when mil- Feb. 9-25 games just 80 ki- like previous ones, again
kilometers (174 miles) be- withdrew from the rally. lions starved, he will contin- lometers (50 miles) south fail to produce a broad-
tween Belen and Fiamba- Price was followed by Ar- ue the North’s push for an of the heavily mined bor- er, more enduring melt of
la/Chilecito, Argentina. gentine Kevin Benavides arsenal of nuclear-tipped der that divides the Kore- frosty ties between the Ko-
Despres of France was 4:35 and Frenchman Antoine missiles that could strike far- an peninsula would have reas, it should at least reas-
behind in second place, Meo. away cities — to make sure been worse for Kim. It would sure Olympic athletes and
with Spain’s Sainz taking Overall, Austria’s KTM rider that world leaders think have made the North ap- visitors that they won’t be
third, 4:40 behind. Matthias Walkner leads thrice about any scheme pear even more isolated, risking their lives by putting
In the overall classification, Benavides by 32:00 and to topple him. not only targeted by U.S.- themselves within range of
Sainz gained 10 seconds Price by 39:17.q So, when the medals have led international sanc- Kim’s troops.q