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.
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