It said:

The revolutionary opera "The Sea of Blood," a smash hit in the DPRK, is the longest in its history of performance.

The opera based on the bloody struggle of the people during Japan's occupation of Korea has been performed 1 600 times over the past four decades since its premiere.

Adapted from the work created by President Kim Il Sung, the founder of the DPRK, it is one of the five revolutionary operas.

It is being staged at the Pyongyang Grand Theatre.

General Secretary Kim Jong Il brought about a radical turn in operas more than four decades ago in order to break outdated patterns that deterred operas from developing for a long period.

The opera "The Sea of Blood" was adapted from immortal masterpiece "The Sea of Blood" under his energetic leadership and raised its curtain in July 1971 for the first time.