Pyongyang, North Korea, September 17, 2008--North Korean gymnasts jump ropes during a "mass games" performance, a highly-coordinated routine involving tens of thousands of participants.

"Mass games," considered political propaganda, were once held in several communist nations, but today are only regularly held in North Korea.

In addition to the jump-rope routine, the spectacle includes giant human pyramids, spinning acrobatics, and a human slingshot that catapults a performer into a giant net, according to press reports.