Dandong

North Koreans living in the border city of Dandong gather to celebrate Korean identity

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• published: 30 Jul 2015
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1. Mid of North Korean women dressed in traditional costumes 2. Detail of red metal pin on woman's dress, with Kim Il Sung's face and Korea's Workers Party logo 3. Mid of women standing in street, others passing by 4. Wide of street and performance stage, with military band playing and cars passing by, AUDIO: music 5. Mid of Chinese Liberation Army music band playing North Korean revolutionary song 6. Mid of of women clapping and singing 7. Various of North Korean women performing on stage 8. Mid of women in crowd 9. Wide of street and audience, with signs both in Chinese and Korean 10. Zoom in from band to female player 11. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Jin Tianfu, Chinese resident of Korean ethnicity: "The North Koreans come here to work in restaurants and joint-venture factories. The people that came today to watch the show and also the performers work in those places. They are all very used to dancing and singing." 12. Wide of female performers singing and dancing 13. Mid of female performer with DPRK flag in background 14. Performers playing drums in traditional costumes 15. Various of Korean waitresses in uniform walking in street 16. North Korean helicopter flying over Yalu river, zoom out to general view of "friendship" bridge 17. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Liu Boacheng, Resident: (discussing rocket launch) "This thing symbolises the economic and scientific improvement in North Korea. Since Kim Jong Un became the secretary of the Korean Workers Party, he is determined to create development and to improve the North Korean people's lives." 18. Mid of helicopter overhead STORYLINE: North Koreans living in the Chinese border city of Dandong gathered to celebrate their Korean identity on Thursday. About 100 people gathered to watch performances of traditional Korean song and dance at a "North Korea Culture and Art Exhibition". The event came as North Korea was poised to send a rocket into space and the nation's young leader ascended to new top political posts strengthening his hold on power. There was no word on Thursday morning on the timing of the controversial rocket launch, which the North has said will take place sometime between Thursday and Monday. In 2009, a similar launch from an east coast site took place on the second day of a five-day window. The launch, which the North says is for peaceful purposes, has raised international concern - and raised tensions in the region. The North's new Tongchang-ri rocket launch site is about 35 miles (55 kilometres) from Dandong. One resident said the cultural gatherings for North Koreans are common in the city, which is one of the main centres for China-Korean relations and trade. Another resident said the intended rocket launch was symbolic for North Korea's new leader, and intended to show the world that he was trying to improve people's lives. "This thing symbolises the economic and scientific improvement in North Korea," he said. "Since Kim Jong Un became the secretary of the Korean Workers Party, he is determined to create development and to improve the North Korean people's lives," he added. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/2cf147e793eb296502cb5bbaa5a93d41 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork