PYONGYANG/SEOUL, July 4 (Joint Press Corps-Yonhap) — South and North Korean basketball players played two friendly matches in Pyongyang on Wednesday amid a thaw in inter-Korean relations.
The games were played in the afternoon at Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium between a “peace” team and a “prosperity” team made up of a mixture of North and South Korean players. The women’s teams played first followed by the men’s. They were part of four planned games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
The women’s “prosperity” team managed to win 103-102. Ro Suk-yong of the North was key to the victory, scoring 18 points.
This pool photo taken July 4, 2018, shows South Korean and North Korean women’s basketball players competing in a friendly game at Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium in Pyongyang. (Yonhap)
The men’s game was tied at 102-102. With less than a second left on the clock, North Korea’s Choe Sung-ho hit a game-tying three-pointer for the “prosperity” team. Another North Korean Won Yun-sik, meanwhile, had the game-high 17 points for “peace” team.
This is the fourth time that the two Koreas have held friendly basketball matches. The last such games were played in October 2003.
This pool photo taken on July 4, 2018, shows North Korean spectators watching a friendly basketball game featuring mixed teams of South Korean and North Korean players at Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium in Pyongyang. (Yonhap)
The event was arranged after high-level officials from the two Koreas met in June to discuss sports exchanges in line with the spirit of the April 27 summit, where their leaders promised to expand cross-border exchanges and contacts.
Inter-Korean relations have been thawing since early this year when the North sent athletes to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics hosted by the South.
The rapprochement led to summit meetings between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in April and May.
The North’s leader, known to be an avid fan of basketball, was not seen at the gymnasium. It is unclear whether he will attend the other planned matches.
Photo: Dennis Rodman singing I Did it My Way with Moranbong Band. Courtesy Vice News.
Moranbong Band with Harlem Globetrotters Courtesy Vice News.
Photo courtesy Facebook.
The Moranbong Band was formed under the direction of Kim Jong Un. The members of the band are also members of the military, so technically the group is considered a military band. Performances are reserved for the elite and are often televised on state-run TV. In this video, the group is in front of a large screen projecting footage of missile launches. (VIDEO MAY BE BLOCKED FROM VIEWING)
According to the group’s Facebook Page:
Kim Jong Un organized the Moranbong band as required by the new century, prompted by a grandiose plan to bring about a dramatic turn in the field of literature and arts this year in which a new century of Juche Korea begins.
The band just several months old raised its curtain for its significant demonstration performance proclaiming its birth before the world.
The repertoire of the performance divided into two parts included colorful numbers such as light music “Arirang”, female vocal quintet “Let’s Learn”, light music “Yeppuni”, light music and song “Victors”, female trio “Silk Weaving Girl of Nyongbyon”, string quartet “We Can’t Live without his Care”, foreign light music “Chardash”, “Victory”, “Song of Gypsy”, female sextet “Fluttering Red Flag” and light music and song “Suite of World Fable Songs.”
UPDATE: SEOUL, Jan. 12, 2018 (Yonhap) — A rare performance by a North Korean art troupe will take place soon on the southern side of the tense inter-Korean border amid a mixed sense of curiosity and doubt over the North’s intent.
After inter-Korean high-level talks Tuesday, North Korea agreed to send a delegation of athletes, cheerleaders, an art troupe, taekwondo demonstration teams, along with high-ranking officials, to the Feb. 9-25 PyeongChang Olympics in the South.
The next questions are what kind of performing group North Korea will dispatch to the South and whether their performances can burnish a more positive image for the country, they said.
“The North is using an art troupe as a card to win the hearts of South Koreans. Under sanctions, music performances could be a good tool for North Korea to weaken its image as a developer of nukes and missiles,” said Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector and head of the Seoul-based World Institute for North Korean Studies.
Even before the two Koreas begin to work out details over the North’s participation, media speculation is rampant over whether the Moranbong Band, an all-female band from North Korea, will come to the South.
The Moranbong Band was established in July 2012 by the North’s leader Kim Jong-un, featuring Western-style music and outfits.
This photo, carried by North Korea’s state news agency on April 2, 2014, shows a performance by the Moranbong Band, an all-female music band in North Korea. (Yonhap)
The band is known for their performances of the totalitarian state’s propaganda songs, as well as Western pop music, including the theme song of the film “Rocky.”
Hyon Song-wol, who is reportedly a former girlfriend of Kim Jong-un, is the leader of the band.
The Moranbong Band abruptly canceled a planned performance in Beijing in December 2015 and returned home.
The reason for that cancellation is not known, but a diplomatic source said that China had decided to send officials of lower rank to the concert in response to Kim Jong-un hinting that Pyongyang had developed a hydrogen bomb.
Amid nuclear threats, PotCoin sends Dennis Rodman back in an attempt to broker peace
NYC, NY – 12/06/17 – Hall of Famer and former NBA bad-boy Dennis Rodman embarked on a multi-stop trip in Asia-Pacific on Wednesday, December 6th, 2017, once again backed by the community-based cryptocurrency for legalized marijuana – PotCoin.
Rodman’s initial stop was in the US Territory of Guam, recently cited in the news as a potential target by North Korea. According to a recent publication, the Guam Visitors Bureau confirms that due to the growing political tension between the US and North Korea, tourism from almost every market except South Korea has been on a downward trend, the biggest being Japan. After North Korea’s threats of a nuclear attack, 7,556 flights were cancelled to Guam, resulting in a $9.5 million loss for the territory.
The initial leg of his trip will see Dennis Rodman meeting with military personnel, families and locals in an effort to show support for the territory with the hope of boosting the economy by proving its safety.
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PotCoin has received numerous requests through social media and its website asking for renewed support to send Rodman in hopes of bringing peace. Rodman is in the very rare position to be able to claim long-time friendships with both the Supreme Leader of North Korea, as well as with the current President of the United States.
“I’m very appreciative of PotCoin once again believing in my mission through basketball diplomacy of peace and love, not war. Together we’re hoping to create real change in the world,” said Rodman.
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