Abrupt end to NKorean band’s China performance

On Friday, Su Hao, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University who researches Asian politics and economics, said in an interview that “there are some issues on which the two sides still can’t get on the same page, primarily the nuclear issue and North Korea’s economic and political reforms”. The band’s director, Hyun Song-wol, refused, saying the songs had been chosen by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The commission of inquiry report detailed wide-ranging abuses in North Korea including prison camps, systematic torture, starvation and killings.

Formed in 2012, members of the Moranbong Band were reportedly hand-picked by Kim Jong Un.

Seoul-based news agency Yonhap reported North Koreans were insulted when the Chinese government made a decision to send lower-ranking officials to the concerts, which were to be held at Beijing’s National Centre for Performing Arts.

Now the all-girl Moranbong Band are embroiled in a diplomatic row.

It’s unclear why the performances were cancelled, especially as they were given official sanctioning only a few days earlier.

After the Moranbong Band’s abrupt cancelation of their performances in Beijing over the weekend, it appears Chinese censors went to work deleting speculation and chatter about the North Korean girl band on mainland sites. Japan’s Kyodo News Service reported that band members were seen at Beijing’s Capital International Airport and had flown back to Pyongyang late Saturday afternoon.

Promoters claimed the gig was cancelled for unknown reasons, but sources tell China’s Xinhua news agency the performance could not be staged due to “communication issues at the working level”.

The Moranbong Band leaving the National Center of Performance Arts in Beijing before getting on a plane.

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.

The concerts had been seen as a sign of better relations between North Korea and its neighbour, ties that had been strained by Pyongyang’s nuclear test in 2013.

They infuse Western pop flavour with a Korean twist.

Experts said the incident would strengthen perceptions of North Korea as unpredictable, unreliable and not open to negotiation. However the cancelled ‘friendship’ concerts which were supposed to showcase improving relations between North Korea and China have had the opposite effect.

South Korean officials said Wednesday they were still trying to confirm whether or not North Korea has postponed its communist party congress slated for May of next year.