Kim Jong Il, top leader of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), watched an opera "The Flower Girl" with workers to celebrate May Day, the official news agency KCNA reported on Sunday.

Enjoying the opera with a group of metal industry workers, Kim highly appreciated the performance and called it "great pride of the DPRK."

The new Korean-style operas evoked a lively response among many countries for their rich ideological contents and high artistry, Kim said, quoted by KCNA.

Kim said the revolutionary operas are excellent textbooks for revolutionary education and it is necessary to let the working people, service persons and school youth watch the operas.

The report didn't give the specific date and place of the event.

(Xinhua News Agency May 3, 2009)