The Voice of Russia
Konstantin Garibov
Aug 3, 2012
While in Seoul, people are trying to escape unbearable heat near fountains and in aqua parks, in Pyongyang North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un is visiting the amusement arcades accompanied by foreign diplomats.
Photo: AFP |
British diplomat Barnaby Johns, one of the foreign diplomats who are accompanying Kim Jong-un, said that such events provide an opportunity to directly contact North Korea’s leadership. The protocol event has become breaking news because it revealed the personal style of the North Korean leader, which differs from his father’s style. Another significant difference was that Kim Jong-un appeared in public with his charming wife Ri Sol Ju. Neither his father Kim Jong-il, nor his grandfather Kim Il-sung allowed such a thing. Neither would they permit broadcasting South Korean athletes’ performances on the North Korean TV. But this time, judging from the reports published by the South Korean press, the North Korean television is broadcasting successful performances of South Korean athletes at the Olympics in London, for the first time in its history. Moreover, instead of only 15 minutes of broadcast, which was the case with the Olympics in Beijing, the Olympics in London are given 5 hours of broadcast.
The North Korean television has also shown pop concerts, which were attended by Kim Jong-un and his wife. This was the first time when Western songs sounded in North Korean concert halls and the heroes of Disney cartoons appeared on the screen there. Are these the signs of the coming changes or “varnished” openness?
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