Nkorea: Annual Arirang mass perfromance

SEOUL: North Korea has opened an annual festival featuring tens of thousands of performers praising the ruling Kim dynasty, amid reports this year's Arirang event will be the last.

The festival began Wednesday evening at Pyongyang's May Day Stadium with a display of "music, dances, gymnastics, acrobatics and ever-changing background", the official news agency reported Wednesday night.

The extravaganza, named after a famous Korean folk song, involves artists including young children performing synchronised acrobatics, dances and flip-card displays of politicised messages.

The impoverished communist state has drawn thousands of Chinese and other foreign tourists to the festival, which began in 2002 and became an annual event in 2007.

Performances this year are in honour of "the leadership of the dear respected Marshal Kim Jong-Un, holding President Kim Il-Sung and leader Kim Jong-Il in high esteem for all ages", the news agency said.

Slogans such as "Long live heaven-sent illustrious commander General Kim Jong-Un! were displayed and the stadium became a "huge sea of flowers and dances", it added.

Jong-Un took over as leader when his father Jong-Il died last December.

Jong-Il succeeded his own father and founding president Kim Il-Sung, who helped establish an all-pervasive personality cult around the family.

A Beijing-based tour firm which for years has organised trips to the North has said this year's Arirang festival, from August 1 to September 9, will be the last.

The North plans to present new shows with different themes beginning next year, Koryo Tours said in June. (AFP)<script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> <!-- Landscapee --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1670575567185137" data-ad-slot="8405523128"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script>

Dancing robots competition held in China

BEIJING: A robot dancing competition took place in northeast China, attracting 29 teams from China, Russia, Mexico and South Korea.

A pair of giant panda-shaped robots drew attention as they had to move over 20 joints in costumes when they were dancing.

"We worked very hard on these giant panda robots. It took a lot of work to ensure even easy moves. For example, we spent three days to complete the giant panda costumes," said He Rong, student of Xihua University.

A robot that could write calligraphy stood out at the competition as well. The robot wrote "Welcome to Fujin" and won applause from competitors and judges.

A team from a Mexican University won the first prize for the solo dance category after a day-long competition. (Monitoring Desk)