N Korea revives mass games to woo tourists

NORTH KOREA looks set to resurrect its mass acrobatic games in what appears to be a drive to boost tourism in the isolated regime.

The relaunch of the so-called Arirang Mass Games, traditionally an acrobatic, dance and gymnastic performance involving up to 100,000 participants in a 150,000-seater stadium, was revealed by Beijing-based Koryo Tours on its Twitter account. “We’re hearing from multiple different sources that the Mass Games will return in 2018,” it stated. “The specifics aren’t entirely clear yet. But we wanted to share this incredibly exciting news with you.”

In a blog post, Koryo, which has a British manager, described the games as “the biggest and most elaborate human performance on planet Earth.”

From 2007 to 2013 the festival became an annual summer ritual, with tourists transfixed by thousands of performers dancing and marching with military precision. It stopped abruptly in 2013 for unspecified reasons. This year’s games may take place in September to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of North Korea.

Critics have previously denounced the spectacle as being underpinned by a cruel and coercive regime.

Pyongyang is also reportedly planning £2,000 tours to promote the Kim dynasty in what some suggest is a measure of the country’s financial crisis. Unbacked sanctions are said to be taking a toll on an economy starved of funds through sanctions imposed because of North Korea’s nuclear obsession.