With North Korea off to a quick start with two gold medals in two days at the Asian Games south of the border, the communist country’s press has been on top of the athletes’ feats.

For its Monday edition, the main newspaper Rodong Sinmun carried a story on the weightlifter Kim Un-guk, who broke two world records to win the gold in the men’s 62-kilogram division on Sunday.

This was the North’s second gold of the Asian Games taking place in Incheon, a western port city. Kim lifted a total of 332 kilograms to break his own previous world record by 5 kilograms.

Earlier in the day in the snatch, Kim hoisted 154 kilograms in his third attempt to break the previous world record by 1 kilogram.

The newspaper also printed a photo of Kim wearing his gold medal and saluting the national flag on the top of the podium.

On Saturday, Om Yun-chol won the North’s first gold medal in the men’s 56-kilogram weightlifting, also in record-breaking style. Om lifted 170 kilograms in the clean and jerk to break his own world record.

The Korean Central News Agency, Pyongyang’s main news wire, also filed stories from Incheon, detailing Kim’s accomplishments. An English-language report by KCNA referred to Kim as the “People’s Sportsman of the DPRK,” or Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the country’s official name.

In addition to the two weightlifting gold medals, North Korea has bagged three bronze medals in judo. It has sent 150 athletes to compete in 14 of 36 sports here.

Its women’s football team is a gold-medal favorite here and has reached the quarterfinals. (Yonhap)