from Nandini Krishnamoorthy of the International Business Times,

The North Korean ice hockey team had to return high-tech carbon fibre sticks to the organisers because of the expanded UN sanctions against the Kim Jong-un regime for conducting repeated missile tests defying the Security Council resolution.

When the team came to Auckland, New Zealand, in April for a tournament it was provided with the sophisticated sticks as the players reportedly had only battered wooden sticks, the AFP news agency reported.

Taking back the equipment would have meant violating UN sanctions, which ban export of luxury goods to Pyongyang. The definition of banned luxury goods extends to "recreational sports equipment"....

Jong Kwang Rim, a sports ministry official who was with the North Korean players in Auckland, apparently protested and wanted the team to be allowed to carry the hockey sticks with them, but to no avail.

He blamed "hostile US forces" for the situation and said his country would not be cowed by the international pressure.

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