Kim’s photo burned amid visit by NKorean celebrity
DIPLOMACY
SEOUL, South Korea — 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 cooperation 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 handpicked Moranbong Band, began a two-day visit Sunday, triggering a 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. But 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.
Hyon saw the activists but did not react. 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. Police used fire extinguishers to put out the fire, but the activists later stamped on Kim’s photo and the flags and burned them.
Police plan to investigate the protesters, according to the Yonhap news agency.
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 foxfur 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.