The Continuation of a ‘Deep-Seated Ancestral Relationship’: China and the passing of Kim Jong-il

The famed ‘Grand Mass Gymnastics and Artistic Performance Arirang’ in Pyongyang features an elaborate ‘DPRK-China friendship’ segment, replete with socialist realist images of united revolutionaries. It cites the ‘deep-seated ancestral relationship’ between the two countries as well as the story of Kim Il-sung’s triumph over centuries of difficult international relations, supported of course, by his Chinese comrades. The 60th anniversary of the opening of China-North Korea diplomatic relations was also widely celebrated in by both Beijing and Pyongyang in 2009.