April 03, 2018 09:12
A picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un surrounded by a gaggle of South Korean K-pop stars graced the front page of the official Rodong Sinmun on Monday.
The South Koreans singers are sitting in the front row while Kim and his wife Ri Sol-ju stand in the back, flanked by Irene of girl band Red Velvet and singer Cho Yong-pil.
Besides the unusual juxtaposition, the grouping is also unusual since Kim normally has to sit in the center front row in any official souvenir picture.
North Korean propaganda still regularly condemns South Korean pop as a symbol of capitalist decadence, and people can be arrested if they are caught listening to it clandestinely.
The paper did not name the starlets or the titles of their songs but gave only a general account of their concert.
"Famous popular South Korean celebrities sang their favorite songs. The concert ended with a chorus of the song 'Our Wish Is Reunification'."
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