Kim goes pop!

Kook takes in S. Korean singers’ show

SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday watched a rare performance by South Korean pop stars visiting Pyongyang, amid thawing ties between the rivals after more than a year of heightened tensions over the North’s nuclear program.

A South Korean artistic group including K-pop singers flew to Pyongyang on Saturday for two performances in the North Korean capital. Their trip comes before Kim is to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at a border village on April 27 and with President Donald Trump in May in separate summits.

South Korean media pool reports from Pyongyang said Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, watched Sunday’s performance by the South Korean group at the East Pyongyang Grand Theater. The reports said Kim’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, and other top officials, including nominal head of state Kim Yong Nam, were also present.

Kim clapped his hands during the event, and he shook hands with South Korean performers and took a group photo with them, according to the reports. South Korean pop singers performed in the North during a past era of detente, but it was the first time a North Korean leader attended such a South Korean performance. South Korea last sent a pop singer to North Korea in 2005.

On Tuesday, the two Koreas plan to hold a joint performance. The ongoing cooperation steps between the rivals began after North Korea took part in February’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.