Beijing no-show by N Korean leader’s hand-picked pop band points to diplomatic

The all-female band formed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un canceled its concerts in Beijing and abruptly left the Chinese capital on Saturday for unknown reasons, possibly further cooling relations between the traditional allies.

The Moranbong Band had been scheduled to perform for three days in Beijing from Saturday, in an apparent sign of warming relations between the two countries.

Sporting short sequined dresses and fashionable hair styles that are a world apart from the usual fashion favored by North Korean women, the Moranbong singers’ repertoire is heavy on odes to Kim Jong Un’s greatness with stirring ultranationalist messages. To make matters worse, a Chinese member of the lighting crew pointed out Kim was referred to the International Criminal Court for human rights abuses and said Pyongyang must learn from Beijing.

However, Yang said news coverage about Hyon by the South Korean media might have had a negative impact on inter-Korean talks that were being held at North Korea’s border city of Kaesong.

It is not immediately known why the band had to leave Beijing.

The all-female group, which sings synthesizer-backed paeans about the repressive leader’s “warm heart” and “sweet smile”, was scheduled to perform its first show Saturday night.

The source said Chinese officials asked for a number of songs be taken out after they attended a rehearsal on Friday. “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 is North Korea’s main economic and diplomatic backer, but was infuriated in 2013 when Kim ordered the country’s third nuclear test.

“China attaches great importance to its cultural relations with DPRK (North Korea)”. NIS reportedly told South Korean legislators that Beijing may have been “uneasy about a performance full of propaganda extolling leader Kim Jong-un”, Yonhap said.

In October, Xi sent Liu Yunshan, a top Communist Party official, to a military parade in North Korea, a move that some analysts interpreted as an effort to mend fences with Kim.

The concert in Beijing was billed as a “friendship performance” by North Korea’s state-run KCNA agency, which praised the “worldwide stylish band” as “the first standard-bearer on the ideological and cultural front”.

Seoul’s spy agency also stated North Korea’s recent announcement that it has built a hydrogen bomb could have influenced Beijing’s decision to act more cautiously.