North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed hope that South Korean musicians' performances in Pyongyang could serve as an occasion to show the unity of the two Koreas, state media reported Monday.
Kim made the remark as he watched a concert held by the South Korean art group on Sunday that involved 11 teams, including pop legend Cho Yong-pil and girl group Red Velvet. The art group will hold a joint performance Tuesday with North Korean musicians.
Kim said he was "deeply" moved to see North Korean spectators respond enthusiastically to a performance titled "Spring Comes," according to the Korean Central News Agency.
He was the first North Korean ruler to watch a concert by South Korean musicians.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (left) waves and South Korean Culture Minister Do Jong-whan claps before a South Korean art troupe performs in Pyongyang, in this image captured from pool footage taken on April 1, 2018. (Yonhap)
The report said that Kim praised their performance as an occasion to bring a "spring of peace" to the Korean Peninsula.
Kim expressed hope that their visit would "mark a significant occasion of demonstrating the appearance of the one nation," KCNA said in its English edition.
Kim was expected to attend the second performance. But the report said that Kim chose to come to Sunday's performance because of political events scheduled for Tuesday.
North Korea's parliament will hold a key session next Wednesday ahead of an inter-Korean summit slated for April 27. US President Donald Trump agreed to meet with Kim by May.
Kim proposed the two Koreas hold more cultural events, suggesting it would be better to hold a concert in Seoul around fall under the title of "Autumn Comes," according to a South Korean media pool report.
The Pyongyang concerts reciprocate a North Korean art troupe's performances in South Korea to celebrate the PyeongChang Winter Olympics last month. President Moon Jae-in attended one of the two concerts held by the North's "Samjiyon Orchestra."
"We think that a good atmosphere, something like spring wind, has been created ahead of an inter-Korean summit as the leaders of the two Koreas watched each other's concerts," Baik Tae-hyun, spokesman at Seoul's unification ministry, told a press briefing.
Meanwhile, the ministry said that it strongly protested with North Korean authorities over their move to restrict South Korean pool reporters from covering the Pyongyang concert without giving a reason.
"Right after the performance ended, we lodged a strong protest through contacts of Koreas' liaison officials," Baik added. "The North is known to have expressed its willingness to cooperate with South Korean media coverage." (Yonhap)