Celebrations for the 114th birth anniversary of founding leader Kim Il Sung dominated North Korean state media this week, led by broadcasts of foreign performances for the Day of the Sun holiday.

State TV aired the pre-recorded performances for the annual spring art festival on a daily basis, featuring artists from friendly states like Russia and China who sang North Korean songs praising the Kim regime and showcased their own countries’ traditional arts. 

But as in recent years, the foreign artists did not appear to have traveled to Pyongyang to perform.

Propaganda around