The Hamilton Spectator

As Kim’s photo burns …

A North Korean celebrity passes by

- HYUNG-JIN KIM AND AHN YOUNG-JOON

Conservati­ve South Korean activists burned a large photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the head of the North’s extremely popular girl band passed them Monday during a visit to Seoul amid a flurry of co-operation agreements between the rivals ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics in the South.

Hyon Song Wol, a North Korean celebrity who heads Kim’s hand-picked Moranbong Band, began a two-day visit on Sunday, triggering media frenzy in South Korea about Hyon, who is also in charge of the North’s artistic performanc­es during the Olympics.

It has been rare for such a high-profile North Korean to travel to South Korea in recent years as bilateral ties deteriorat­ed over North Korea’s nuclear program before the nations abruptly began seeking to improve relations this month ahead of the Feb. 9-25 Olympics.

After her visits to potential venues for North Korean performanc­es in an eastern city, Hyon arrived back Monday at the Seoul railway station where she saw about 150 to 200 activists protesting her visit and recent inter-Korean rapprochem­ent deals. After she left the area, the demonstrat­ors used a blowtorch to burn Kim’s photo, a North Korean flag and a “unificatio­n flag” that athletes of the rival Koreas plan to carry together during the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

Hyon returned later to North Korea via the highly militarize­d border.

Her visit made her the subject of intense South Korean media attention, with photograph­ers following her every move and TV stations aggressive­ly reporting about not only her career and band, but also her fox-fur muffler, boots and facial expression­s.

The band, with young women in short skirts and high heels dancing and singing odes to Kim, has drawn wide attention even though little informatio­n about it is available to outsiders. South Korean media say Hyon is an army colonel and is close to Kim.

South Korea’s liberal government led by President Moon Jae-in sees North Korea’s participat­ion in the games — both in sporting events and cultural exchanges — as a way to calm tensions caused by the North’s recent nuclear and missile tests and war of words with the United States.

“We need wisdom and efforts to keep alive the chances for dialogue we’ve pulled off miraculous­ly after the Pyeongchan­g Olympics,” Moon said.

“We must get South-North Korean talks developed into talks between North Korea and the United States ... so that we can resolve the North Korean nuclear issue peacefully,” Moon said in a meeting with aides, according to his office.

Under a deal brokered by the Internatio­nal Olympic Committee, the two Koreas will field their first unified Olympic team, in women’s hockey, and have their athletes march together under the joint flag depicting their peninsula during the Feb. 9 opening ceremony. North Korea is to send a total of 22 athletes to the games after they were granted exceptiona­l entries by the IOC.

The deals on a unified hockey team and the use of the joint flag have caused a heated debate in South Korea, reflecting changes in public views toward North Korea in recent years.

A survey showed a majority of South Korean oppose the joint hockey team, which critics say will deprive South Korean players of due playing time.

Hyon’s Moranbong Band will not visit South Korea during the games, but she will head a little-known 140-member art troupe that is to perform twice.

The art troupe, which comprises orchestra members, singers and dancers, is part of North Korea’s Olympic delegation that also includes a 230-member cheering group, journalist­s and a taekwondo demonstrat­ion team.

Hyon was travelling in the company of six other North Koreans.

They inspected possible venues in the eastern city of Gangneung, where some Olympic events are scheduled to take place, on Sunday and in Seoul on Monday.

 ?? LEE YOUNG-HO, SIPA USA, TNS ?? Hyon Song-Wol, head of North Korea’s art troupe, arrives at Gangneung Art Center in Gangneung, South Korea, on Sunday.
LEE YOUNG-HO, SIPA USA, TNS Hyon Song-Wol, head of North Korea’s art troupe, arrives at Gangneung Art Center in Gangneung, South Korea, on Sunday.

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