China still wants North Korea exchanges after cancelled concert

Observers in Seoul also say North Korea’s announcement that it has a hydrogen bomb and its declaration of a mourning period for its late leader Kim Jong-il may have been factors as well.

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

A female pop band from North Korea touring China abruptly canceled concerts in Beijing and left the country on Saturday for reasons unknown.

Chinese analysts who spoke to Yonhap agreed the Moranbong cancellation would have little influence on bilateral relations, but Yang Xiyu, director of the Foreign Ministry’s Korean Peninsula affairs office, said the leaders of China and North Korea still need to meet, and that it is hard to ascertain when that could take place.

The surprise move, the first time the group would have performed outside North Korea, generated a considerable amount of excitement among some young Chinese, even though the concerts were to be invitation-only.

“The finance and banking sectors should be aware of the serious responsibility provided by great former leaders, then improve and strengthen the projects in a revolutionary way, facing current development”, Kim said in comments reported by Rodong Sinmun.

Moranbong Band – Kim Jong Un and wife Ri Sol Ju applaud as they watch a different performance from Moranbong band in Pyongyang.

Official Chinese media are neither confirming nor denying grounds for the concerts’ cancellation, with state-run Xinhua News modestly describing the whole kerfuffle as “communication issues at the working level”.

There was no hint of trouble when they practiced in Beijing’s National Centre for Performing Arts on Friday, according to BBC.

Members of the Moranbong Band from North Korea arrive at Beijing International Airport before departing from Beijing on Saturday.

The Moranbong Band had been scheduled to hold three concerts in Beijing beginning Saturday night in what was viewed as a visit to cultivate ties between the countries. Despite the visits exchanged by Choe and Liu, Beijing and Pyongyang have more work to do to get their relationship back on track. Ties between the sides have reportedly been cooler since Kim assumed power in 2011. ” could create many new fans outside North Korea”.

Under such circumstances, Chinese officials and media were praising the six-day visit by the North Korean delegation, led by Choe Hwi, first vice department director of the Central Committee of the ruling party, who deals with propaganda affairs, as timely and capable of contributing to mutual understanding.