Before the start of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Yun Yong-bok, a senior North Korean sports official, offered a bold prediction on his country's performance.

"We didn't come all the way here to win a meager five gold medals," Yun said on July 28, when the North Korean athletes landed in Rio.

Yun talked the talk, but his athletes couldn't walk the walk.

North Korea ended its Rio campaign with two golds, three silvers and two bronzes. At the 2012 London Olympics, the country had won four golds, three of them from weightlifting, and two bronzes.

North Korea again relied heavily on its lifters for medal production. Rim Jong-sim, who won the 2012 gold medal in women's -69kg, captured the -75kg title in Rio, becoming the first North Korean woman with two Olympic gold medals.

The other gold medalist was gymnast Ri Se-gwang, who won the men's vault title in his Olympic debut. The two-time world vault champion became only the second North Korean to win a gymnastics gold medal.

While North Korea picked up three more medals from weightlifting, the sport wasn't without disappointing moments.

The 2012 gold medalist Om Yun-chol settled for silver in the men's -56kg this time, after Long Qingquan of China beat him with a world record total of 307kg.

Long beat Om 137kg to 134kg in snatch, and 170kg to 169kg in clean and jerk.

Om's close call came with Choe Ryong-hae, a powerful vice chairman of North Korea's State Affairs Commission, watching in disappointment from the stands.

No other single moment aptly captured the sense of North Korean futility in Rio. (Yonhap)