Kim Jong Un Attends Concert of Youth League Art Propaganda Squad

Kim Jong Un attends a concert by the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League Art Propaganda Squad (Photo: Rodong Sinmun).

Kim Jong Un’s last observed appearance was his attendance at a concert marking the 55th anniversary of DPRK-Cuba relations

DPRK state media reported on September 10 (Thursday) that Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) attended a concert given by the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League Art Propaganda Squad.  Attending the concert were VMar Hwang Pyong So (Director of the Korean People’s Army [KPA] General Political Department), Choe Ryong Hae (Workers’ Party of Korea [WPK] Secretary of Military Affairs), Gen. Pak Yong Sik (Minister of the People’s Armed Forces), Gen. Ri Yong Gil (Chief of the KPA General Staff), Kim Yang Gon (WPK Secretary and Director of the United Front Department), Ri Il Hwan (Director of the WPK Workers’ Organizations Department), Jon Yong Nam (Chairman of the KIS Socialist Youth League Central Committee), Gen. Jo Kyong Chol (Director of Military Security Command), Gen. O Kum Chol (Vice Chief of the KPA General Staff), Kim Chun Sop (WPK Secretary for Military [Machine-Building] Industry), O Il Jong (Director of the WPK Military Affairs Department), Ri Pyong Chol (Senior Deputy Director of the WPK Organization Guidance Department), Col. Gen. Yun Tong Hyon (Vice Minister of the People’s Armed Forces), other senior WPK and KPA officials, KPA service members and officers, and performers from various civilian and military arts troupes.

The concert began with “Song of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League,” “Joy of the People,”spoken word and solo piece “Golden Cushion,” and a comedic story “Name of Youth.”  It concluded with “March of Korean Youth” and “We Will Defend General Kim Jong Un with Our Lives.”

Overview of a concert given by the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League Art Propaganda Squad (Photo: Rodong Sinmun).

According to KCNA, the performers “sang high praises of the undying feats of President Kim Il Sung (Kim Il-so’ng) and leader Kim Jong Il (Kim Cho’ng-il) who always regarded the importance to the youth as the most important affair of the revolution and laid an eternal foundation for building the power of the youth and the great personality of Kim Jong Un who is cultivating a large flower garden of love for the youth on this land” and “impressively represented the conviction that the country will always shed its brilliant rays all over the world as the power of the youth prospering full of dynamism as there is the most reliable huge contingent of young people in the world trained by the peerlessly great men of Mt. Paektu and the militant stamina and optimism of the young vanguard dashing ahead like wind toward the bright future in the spirit of the blizzards of Paektu.  The performance demonstrated the faith and will of the five million members of the young vanguard.”.

Kim Jong Un “repeatedly and highly estimated the performance.”  According to KCNA, Jong Un remarked that the performance “proved that the 70 year-long history of the Workers’ Party of Korea is a history of attaching importance to the youth and a history of having built the power of the youth and it is the best performance as it sensitively reflected the policies of the party” and  “it was pervaded with the spirit of the era as it dealt with all what he wanted to say to the youth and it is the most splendid performance he has ever watched till now.”

Kim Jong Un poses for a commemorative photo with members of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League Art Propaganda Squad following the concert (Photo: Rodong Sinmun).

Jong Un also noted “the art squad of the Central Committee of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League is like the anchor man and bugler of the party.”  According to KCNA, he “gave precious teachings for further developing the art squad” and “set forth the tasks for creating and performing more works contributing to thoroughly preparing the youth to be elite Kimilsungists-Kimjongilists and more successful works dealing with the issues to be always held fast to in the ideological education of the youth as intended by the Party Central Committee.”

Kim Jong posed for a commemorative photograph with the composers and performers of the art squad and he expressed his “expectation and conviction that they would successfully discharge their honorable mission and duty by dynamically conducting revolutionary and militant performing activities.”