U.S. rappers say they filmed music video in N. Korea

BEIJING (AP) ― Two aspiring American rappers said Saturday that they had filmed part of a music video in North Korea, hoping the novel locale will make it a hit.

The rappers known as Pacman and Peso did not say where and how they filmed the footage, which their fundraising proposal suggested would be done on a karaoke party bus in Pyongyang.

Their custom trip was arranged through a travel agency specializing in taking Westerners to North Korea, according to the proposal.

Americans are able to travel to North Korea on arranged tours and are constantly accompanied by North Korea minders.

After an elderly American was detained in the country, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning on Nov. 19, advising against all travel by U.S. citizens to North Korea.

The two rappers said their trip shied away from politics.

“I mean we did not go there to be political. We just go down there to shoot our video and that about the reason why we went, not political,” said Pacman ― whose real name is Anthony Bobb.

The duo from the Washington area spoke to reporters at an airport in Beijing upon their return from a five-day trip to North Korea.

“Nobody shot a video in North Korea, let alone thought of it. Nobody even thought of making a video in North Korea. You know what I’m saying?” said Peso, whose real name is Dontray Ennis.