N Korean leader ‘moved’ by S Korean show in Pyongyang

SEOUL – Anadolu Agency

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his “heart swelled” as he enjoyed an evening of South Korean music in Pyongyang, the reclusive state’s official media said April 2.

Kim was joined by his wife as they watched some of the biggest names in the South’s entertainment industry at the 1,500-capacity East Pyongyang Grand Theater.

The historic concert April 1, titled “Spring is Coming,” was the first of its kind in the North’s capital since 2005. This time legendary entertainer Cho Yong-pil was joined by modern K-pop artists in performing a variety songs, including some that would be well-known to a North Korean audience.

Far from the outrage Pyongyang has shown toward South Korean propaganda efforts to blare music across their tense border, the North’s KCNA news agency reported Kim was “moved” while viewing the spectacle along with other North Koreans.

The South’s 160-member art troupe will again perform April 3, this time alongside North Korean counterparts, before returning home.

Local news agency Yonhap said Kim proposed another cultural event in Seoul for the fall.

It bodes well for a planned April 27 inter-Korean summit that was facilitated by cultural cooperation relating to the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February.