https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/7/16988272/north-korea-2018-winter-pyeongchang-olympic-edition-samsung-galaxy-note-8-sanctions-iran

Winter Olympics attendees from North Korea, as well as Iran, won’t be getting Samsung Galaxy Note 8 phones due to United Nations sanctions, the event’s organizers said today, as reported by AFP. This year, Samsung, for the second Olympics in a row, made a special version of the Galaxy Note 8 to distribute to athletes and organizers. It’s not the only promotion of its flagship phone that the tech giant engages in — the Note 8 has also heavily appeared on Korean dramas over the past year, as actors on TV shows tend to all use Samsung devices.

Since the regular Note 8 phone costs $920 in South Korea, or 1,000,000 won, and the Olympic edition will no doubt be priced higher, it could be considered a luxury good, which is banned by the UN sanctions on North Korea. It’s also possible that it could be considered a “dual use” good that could also be used for the military. Many countries have raised sanctions against North Korea and Iran, typically over military weapons testing, within the last few years, The UN recently adopted even tougher sanctions against North Korea starting last December.