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Kim Hyeong-soo, who escaped the secretive state in 2009, said it was true that athletes who failed to perform faced the gulag.

In fact, he claimed, even the coaches were punished, with several months of hard labour the typical sentence handed down by the regime.

The revelations come after North Korea’s man in Europe, Alejandro Cao de Benos, told Daily Star Online that they were rewarded with luxuries and new houses.

(Image: MICHAEL HAVIS)

And while Mr Kim said this was true of those who took the top prize for North Korea, he said the rewards were far less appealing for those who lost.

He said: "If they had a gold medal of course they would receive a huge benefit like a car, a new apartment in Pyongyang and extra rice.

"But if they have a bad result the athletes and the coach can actually be sent for hard labour for several months."

Mr Kim, who worked at North Korea’s mysterious Longevity Institute, also accused the regime of spreading lies about bad performances.

Giving the example of North Korea’s famous 1966 World Cup squad, he described how Pyongyang explained away their quarter final loss to Portugal.

The team were blamed for partying the night before and then locked up – defector Kang Chol-hwan even claimed to have seen one of the squad in the Yodok gulag.

Mr Kim said: "They have secretaries or government officials that go with them to these international events… and so if they lose they will actually fabricate a story.

"Like they’ll say they went to a nightclub before the match and therefore that's why they had a poor performance. So they’re criticised and punished for that.

"On the other hand if they win a gold medal or are successful, then even if they did do something problematic, they will actually tone it down."

Renewed speculation about the ultimate fate of North Korea’s losing athletes was sparked by the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro last year.

Weightlifter Kim Kuk-hyang was seen sobbing on the podium after being forced to settle for silver by Chinese rival Meng Suping.

Mr Kim said: "You can see it in the eyes of the athletes because they're not playing for their own pride or happiness; it's more about fear."