Kim was sent as part of North Korea's Olympic delegation to the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics held on 24 February 2018. His presence was controversial, mostly due to allegations that Kim was responsible for orchestrating an attack on a South Korean naval ship in 2010 that killed 46 sailors. An article in the "Hangook Ilbo" warned that Kim's attendance could send "raging waves" throughout the Korean Peninsula, but the games closed without incident.