LOS ANGELES – North Korea’s Arirang mass games performance –– a yearly spectacle where thousands of North Korean gymnasts perform in Pyongyang –– is “ready to open,” the KCNA reported on Thursday and, despite heightened tensions in March, continues to garner substantial interest from tourists.

The theme of this year’s mass games is focused on the 60th anniversary of the Korean War (known as the Fatherland Liberation War in North Korea) and the 65th anniversary of the founding of the DPRK.