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The Rodong Sinmun reported on Apr. 17 that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju attended a performance of a Chinese ballet drama called “The Red Detachment of Women” at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre the previous day. (Yonhap News)
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Performance marks first cultural exchange since North Korea-China summit last month
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju attended a performance by a Chinese ballet troupe that visited North Korea, the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North Korean Workers' Party, reported on Apr. 17. This appears to reflect how North Korea-China relations have grown closer since the summit at the end of last month. The newspaper’s first and second pages carried a detailed description of the performance of a ballet drama called “The Red Detachment of Women,” which was performed by the National Ballet of China at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre on Apr. 16. The newspaper also ran eight photos of Kim visiting the theatre and greeting the performers. Composed in 1964, “The Red Detachment of Women” is a dramatic ballet that shows how Chinese women who joined the Red Army in the 1930s became warriors of the revolution. North Korea appears to be particularly solicitous of the ballet troupe’s performance because this was the first cultural exchange since the North Korea-China summit held on Mar. 26. Kim also threw a lavish banquet to welcome Song Tao, head of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China, who visited North Korea on Apr. 14 with the ballet troupe. Last year, Kim had refused to meet with Song when he visited as a special envoy for Chinese President Xi Jinping. “This visit to Pyongyang by the Chinese ballet troupe is a significant event that upholds the tradition of friendship between our two countries, which is our prized possession, and further develops and strengths that friendship,” Kim was quoted as saying by the newspaper. “Through expanding exchange in various areas, we will ably defend, strengthen and develop friendship between our two countries,” Song was quoted as responding. By Jung In-hwan, staff reporter Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
