North Korea’s propaganda machine is famously enormous and enduring. It’s primarily used inside the country to bolster the Kim dynasty’s cult of personality. But with North Korea taking the Olympic stage, it is finding a wider audience internationally. North Korea is sending 22 athletes to the Games and a 230-member cheering squad. The women, sometimes referred to as Kim Jong-un’s army of beauties, have arrived in South Korea in what many are calling Kim’s Olympic charm offensive. The cheerleaders are chosen by strict criteria on height and family background, according to reports from a defector. They often wear traditional Korean garb and use flags and fans in routines. They have also sported more modern, worldly looks, including Nike baseball caps and T-shirts. The Olympics will be the first global appearance for the cheerleaders, but it is their fourth time traveling to the South. They made their debut there in 2002 at the Asian Games in Busan. They appeared again at the 2003 Summer Universiade in Daegu. Their last trip to the South was in 2005, for the Asian Athletics Championships. Ri Sol-ju was one of the cheerleaders at the time — before she got married. The cheerleaders’ participation at the Olympics is a rare display from a reclusive country and will undoubtedly be closely watched.