DPRK TV shows Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh took the stage in North Korea during a concert f...

DPRK TV shows Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh

Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh took the stage in North Korea during a concert for new leader Kim Jong Un in an unusual performance featuring Disney characters.

Performers dressed as some of America's most memorable cartoon characters danced and pranced as footage from "Snow White," ''Dumbo," ''Beauty and the Beast" and other popular Disney movies played on a massive backdrop, according to still photos shown on state TV Saturday.

The inclusion of characters popular in the West — particularly from the United States, North Korea's wartime enemy — is a notable change in direction for performance arts in Pyongyang.

This appears to be the first time Disney characters have been included in a major performance, though Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse have been popular among children for several years. Backpacks, pencil cases and pajamas imported from China often feature Disney characters, and stories such as "Dumbo" have been translated into Korean for North Korean schoolchildren. However, it is unusual to make such images a central part of a North Korean performance and to publicize it on state TV.

The performance was staged Friday by the new Moranbong band, which was making its debut after being assembled by Kim himself, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim, who took power after his father, longtime leader Kim Jong Il, died in December, has a "grandiose plan to bring about a dramatic turn in the field of literature and arts this year," KCNA said.

The dispatch made no mention of Disney characters, but said the concert included the traditional folk tune "Arirang" as well as a number of upbeat foreign songs.

Early Sunday, he led top officials in paying their respects to his late grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, at the mausoleum where he lies in state. Kim died 18 years ago Sunday.

(Agencies)