Kim Jong Un surprised North and South Koreans — and the rest of the world — yesterday (April 1) by attending a K-pop concert in Pyongyang.
A delegation of South Korean artists including Jo Yong Pil and Lee Sun Hee, Choi Jin Hee, Yoon Do Hyun, Baek Ji Young, Jung In, Girls' Generation's Seohyun, Ali and Red Velvet performed at East Pyongyang Grand Theater, eventually joining together on stage to sing the self-explanatory popular song "Our Wish Is Unification."
Red Velvet were the highlight of the evening, though, generating applause from the audience and Kim Jong Un alike.
The North Korean leader even met with the girl group to take a photo after the show. Watch a video clip of the group meeting the North Korean leader below.
"There was a lot of interest in whether I would come to watch Red Velvet," Kim Jong Un told North Korea's Central News Agency [via the Associated Press]. "Originally, I planned to come the day after tomorrow but I adjusted my schedule and came today."
Prior to yesterday's show, South Korea had not sent pop stars to the North since 2005. Red Velvet are scheduled to perform a second show in North Korea tomorrow (April 3).
The concert was the latest signifier of cooling tensions between North and South Korea. The countries competed as a unified country at the recent Olympics in Pyeongchang, and the leaders of the two countries are expected to meet at a border village later this month. Kim Jong Un will reportedly meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in May, as well.
A delegation of South Korean artists including Jo Yong Pil and Lee Sun Hee, Choi Jin Hee, Yoon Do Hyun, Baek Ji Young, Jung In, Girls' Generation's Seohyun, Ali and Red Velvet performed at East Pyongyang Grand Theater, eventually joining together on stage to sing the self-explanatory popular song "Our Wish Is Unification."
Red Velvet were the highlight of the evening, though, generating applause from the audience and Kim Jong Un alike.
The North Korean leader even met with the girl group to take a photo after the show. Watch a video clip of the group meeting the North Korean leader below.
Red Velvet shaking hands with Kim Jung Un omg pic.twitter.com/jZybOC20uT
— Skylar 🐻🐰 (@SeulOnFire) April 2, 2018
"There was a lot of interest in whether I would come to watch Red Velvet," Kim Jong Un told North Korea's Central News Agency [via the Associated Press]. "Originally, I planned to come the day after tomorrow but I adjusted my schedule and came today."
Prior to yesterday's show, South Korea had not sent pop stars to the North since 2005. Red Velvet are scheduled to perform a second show in North Korea tomorrow (April 3).
The concert was the latest signifier of cooling tensions between North and South Korea. The countries competed as a unified country at the recent Olympics in Pyeongchang, and the leaders of the two countries are expected to meet at a border village later this month. Kim Jong Un will reportedly meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in May, as well.
