‘Executed’ North Korean pop diva takes Olympic spotlight
PYONGYANG, Korea, Democratic People’s Republic Of — Just a few years ago, she was reportedly executed by a North Korean firing squad. Now, Pyongyang’s top pop diva is a senior ruling party official and a surprise headliner in the run-up to the South Korean Winter Olympics.
Hyon Song Wol, the photogenic leader of Kim Jong Un’s hand-picked Moranbong Band, has made two excursions across the Demilitarized Zone as a negotiator and advance team leader working out the details of Kim’s surprise offer for the North to participate in the Pyeongchang Games.
South Korea’s media have been treating her like a true K-pop celebrity.
On Monday, as she wrapped up her latest visit and prepared to return to Pyongyang, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported a large crowd waited outside her hotel for a glimpse of her eating breakfast. Journalists, it noted, received only a “subtle smile” in response to their questions before she was whisked away with the North Korean delegation.