In this regard, Choe Yong Sop, an official of the C.C., Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League, told KCNA:

Folk games of schoolchildren took place in Pyongyang and other areas to whip up the festive mood.

Schoolchildren in Central District of Pyongyang launched competitions of kite-flying, top spinning and other folk games at Kim Il Sung Square early in the morning.

Carried in most of the kites were such letters as "Our satellite" and "Satellite launch".

Among those children were boys playing shuttlecocks and girls playing skipping.

Those in Phyongchon District staged folk games in the plaza of Pyongyang Indoor Stadium. What drew attention was the maypole dancing.

Plazas of the Tower of the Juche Idea and the Party Founding Memorial Tower and other parts of Pyongyang, too, were crowded with schoolchildren playing various folk games and adults watching them.

Sports and amusement games of schoolchildren were held in other cities, including Phyongsong City of South Phyongan Province and Sariwon City of North Hwanghae Province.