As North Korea aired the 2025 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Women's U-17 World Cup, it showed Hyundai Motor's logo as is. That contrasts with the past, when it erased ads for corporations related to Western countries, including Korea.
Korean Central Television aired on the 26th a recording of the Group B third group-stage match between North Korea and the Netherlands, held on the 25th (Korea time) at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Salé, Morocco. In this match, North Korea beat the Netherlands 5-0 and advanced to the round of 16.
At the stadium that day, ads for South Korea's Hyundai Motor as well as Visa and Adidas, among other Western corporations, were displayed, and Korean Central Television did not erase them and showed them as is. That stands in contrast to the 2022 Qatar World Cup, when it selectively erased Hyundai Motor's electric vehicle ads and U.S. company Coca-Cola's ads.
A recent instance of North Korea using Western brands was also observed. On the same day, Korean Central Television reported that the "autumn golf enthusiasts' tournament" was held at the Pyongyang Golf Course in North Korea. At that time, one participant wore shoes with a clearly visible logo of the U.S. sports brand Nike.
Because sports equipment is classified as luxury goods that are prohibited from transfer to North Korea under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2270 on sanctions against the North, it is unlikely that Nike exported these products to North Korea. Accordingly, the products are presumed to be smuggled goods or counterfeits.
Scenes of North Korean golfers favoring Nike products were also identified in footage of the spring golf enthusiasts' tournament aired by Central Television in May last year.