Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un and his wife enjoyed a rare performance by K-pop stars from South Korea in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
As reported by the BBC, it’s the first musical delegation to visit in over a decade, preceding a meeting of the countries’ two leaders. Kim is the first leader of North Korea to ever attend an artistic performance by Southern acts.
K-pop girl band Red Velvet and solo stars Seohyun, Choi Jin-hee, Cho Yong-pil, Lee Sun-hee, all performed in the first concert ‘Spring is Coming’. The two hour performance was watched by Kim, his wife, his sister, North Korean officials, and a crowd of over 1,000 people. A second gig will take place on Tuesday (April 3).
South Korea last sent a pop star to the North in 2005.
The show comes before the April 27 summit, where Moon Jae-in the South Korean president will meet with Kim in a border town.
Do Jong-hwan, the South Korean culture minister, told press that Kim “showed much interest during the show and asked questions about the songs and lyrics,” according to Reuters. Kim posed backstage for photographs with some of the performers and spoke with them in groups.
Revisit our interview with Red Velvet here and watch their “Russian Roulette” music video below. To know what it’s like to perform a concert in North Korea, read our interview with the director of Liberation Day, a documentary about the first western band to play North Korea.
