Kim Jong Un will send a girl band to woo Beijing ahead of human rights discussions
At risk of facing the International Criminal Court for human rights abuses, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un believes he might have just the trick up his sleeve to save his skin: North Korea's version of the Spice Girls, the Moranbong Band.
The all-girl, violin-wielding pop group was personally assembled by Kim in 2012, and they perform songs about the dictator's "warm heart" and "sweet smile" next to videos of, for example, missiles hitting the United States. It is Kim's plan to send the Moranbong Band to China in order to warm relations with Beijing, as the Chinese capital holds veto power at an upcoming United Nations Security Council meeting that will discuss alleged human rights abuses in North Korea. Depending on how China votes, the U.N. could potentially refer Kim to the International Criminal Court — which Pyongyang naturally hopes to avoid. That's where Moranbong's "friendship performances" in China come in.
"The Chinese are very pragmatic, they weigh the cost of keeping North Korea within their patronage. Apparently so far China seems to think the benefit outweighs the cost," Lee Jung-hoon, a professor of international relations at South Korea's Yonsei University, told CNN.
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North Korean news agency KCNA reported that Pyongyang hopes the Moranbong Band will "contribute to deepening friendship and boosting the cultural and artistic exchanges between the peoples of the two countries."
Watch the Moranbong band perform below. Jeva Lange
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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