North Korea’s girl band Moranbang cancels shows, leaves China abruptly

Though there has been no news of concrete changes in North Korea’s rigid financial system, the unexpected conference according to experts, could signal forthcoming reforms.

In this photo taken Friday Dec. 11, 2015, members of the Moranbong band wait to leave the hotel for a rehearsal in Beijing, China.

“Only Mr Kim has the power to order such a drastic course of action”, Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor at Tokyo’s Waseda University and an authority on the North Korean leadership, told The Telegraph.

“China wants North Korea to be more open”, Su added.

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”.

North Korea’s Ambassador to China, Ji Jae Ryon, was seen accompanying the women onto the plane, which was delayed by three hours and took off shortly after 4 p.m., the Shanghaiist website reported.

A picture released by the North Korean Central News Agency shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center right) and his wife Ri Sol-ju (center left) watching a performance by the Moranbong Band in Pyongyang on September 3, 2014.

As a counter-gesture, the visit to Beijing by the Moranbong Band was meant to help “improve mutual understanding and friendship”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

A member of staff who answered the telephone at the venue said the show had been cancelled for “some unknown reason”.

“After all, key issues such as nuclear and economic cooperation need to be worked out with leaders from the two countries sitting down together, without which all this will amount to next to nothing”, Cheng said.

However, there is speculation that the band, which is very popular in North Korea (although admittedly, there is not much choice given the authoritarian regime’s strict control) had been called back home after Kim Jong-un heard that Chinese President Xi Jinping would not be attending the concert.

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

The Beijing performance was meant to its first overseas concert.

“Following North Korea’s sudden cancellation of the Moranbong Band, we can not rule out the possibility that Pyongyang and Beijing’s relations may become estranged again”, a South Korean defense official said during a meeting of top military officials held in Seoul on Monday.