Kim’s girls quit China as H-bomb boast backfires

The Moranbong Band are Kim’s pet project as he tries to put his personal stamp on the North Korean arts, and the short haircuts of the group’s young women members are trend-setting in the capital, Pyongyang.

North Korea lodged a complaint about the South’s discussion of Pyongyang’s human rights record during the most recent inter-Korea talks that ended without a joint statement.

The sudden departure of the band appeared to highlight the mercurial and secretive nature of Kim and his government.

The concert tour was seen as thaw in the frosty relations between Pyongyang and Beijing burdened by North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme and a number of provocations by Kim. They were dressed in long, olive military-style winter coats.

Comments about Moranbong on Chinese websites were deleted, suggesting a deliberate blackout.

Around 3 p.m., employees at the Chinese Culture Ministry who had been given free tickets for the concerts were sent a WeChat message saying that the concerts had been canceled.

Hyon reportedly disagreed and said every aspect of the concert was created under Kim’s guidance and could not be altered.

Moranbong Band leave the hotel for concert rehearsal on Friday, December 11.

The concerts had been invitation-only, and no tickets were sold to the public.

Even though officials said the two nations would continue exchanges, the cancellation showed ties were deteriorating, the observers said.

“Experts will assess and debate North Korea’s latest nuclear claim, but the regime already poses a serious and growing nuclear threat to the United States and its allies”, Klinger said.

“In July three years ago, Kim Jong Un watched a demonstration performance of the Moranbong Band and appreciated it for having greatly improved all the musical elements – from theme and formation to arrangement, composition of instruments, technical skill and representation”, KCNA said earlier in the week.

They infuse Western pop flavour with a Korean twist.

“In the past, North Korea was like a dog that we raised”, he said.

Started in 2012, the girl group is an incarnation of former leader Kim Jong Il’s Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble. Ultimately, it all depends on what “gifts” North Korea will present to China.

As to whether this mishap will strain North Korea and China’s relationship, The Global Times, a publication by the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily, said, “Given the strategic relationship between the two, the atmosphere surrounding the show might have a short-term impact, but will not affect the basis of their strategic relations”.