Kim Jong Un’s The Moranbong Band Scrap Beijing Gig And Fly Home

North Korean girl band Moranbong has canceled its shows in Beijing, China’s National Center for the Performing Arts said. According to the New York Times, news of the cancellation first hit Chinese social media around 3 p.m. on the day of the first performance, accompanied by photos of the band’s members, all dressed in military-style clothing on their way to the airport. However, both initiatives appear to have foundered because of North Korea’s commitment to its nuclear weapons program, underscoring the country’s diplomatic isolation. “But considering the North has the Party Congress coming up next year, it will put priority on restoring ties with China, so we will see things improve again”.

China has been particularly angry at three nuclear tests carried out by North Korea, the last in 2013. Neither China nor North Korea has given an official reason for the abrupt end of the tour.

The KCNA said earlier the event, which would be the first of its kind in 36 years, would take place in early May.

Asked to tone down the fawning praise for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at its performances, Pyongyang’s best-known pop act packed up and left instead.

Attendance for the show was to be invitation only.

The performances would have been the group’s first overseas. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency offered some theories from the National Intelligence Service.

It was unclear Saturday evening whether the band was still in Beijing. The group was seen hastily departing for Beijing airport on Saturday afternoon, catching the next Air Koryo flight back to Pyongyang.

The band, formed in 2012 and apparently handpicked by Kim Jong-un, is composed of svelte women who can sing, dance and perform electric and classical instruments.

Members of the Moranbong Band and the State Merited Chorus of North Korea walk to get on a train at the station in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015. Ties between the sides have reportedly been cooler since Kim assumed power in 2011.

An all-female pop group from North Korea has ended its goodwill tour of China – before it even began. In October, high-ranking Chinese official Liu Yunshan visited Pyongyang, and this visit by the Moranbong Band was widely publicized in the Chinese press. However, Kim’s unwillingness to visit China and his government’s refusal to restart denuclearization talks have frustrated the Chinese leadership. “Let’s build our land into a rich country and paradise, let’s use these times to educate ourselves, staying up all night learning, creating new miracles through invention and accomplishments”. That’s when Hyun ordered the band members to pack their bags for a return to Pyongyang.