North Korean Girl Group 'Moranbong' Cancelled Beijing Shows; Rumors Arise!
China's National Center for the Performing Arts said, that North Korean girl group "Moranbong" cancelled its Beijing shows, according to CNN.
In efforts to improve relations between the two countries, the band was handpicked by Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator. The band was scheduled to perform in a series of shows for a week.
The all-female group play with a range of instruments and performs a mixture of traditional Korean and Western tunes, revealed BBC. The girl band is known to sing patriotic songs to North Korea communist rulers.
The North Korean girl group was scheduled to perform Saturday night but the venue posted a statement on their official page on Weibo. The center for performing arts announced that the North Korean performances have been cancelled and apologized to its audience.
"Communication issues at the working level," was later cited as the reason, by a dispatch from Xinhua news.
Xinhua is China's state-run news agency.
"China attaches great importance to cultural exchanges between the two countries, and is willing to work with the DPRK side to promote bilateral exchanges in culture and all other areas," said the dispatch, referring to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. This is the country's official name.
Seen accompanying North Korean girl group "Moranbong" was North Korea's ambassador to China, Ji Jae Ryong. Around midday, he was seen with the members of the girl band outside their hotel and later at the Beijing airport, reported Yonhap, a South Korean news agency.
The "Stated Merited Chorus," an accompanying North Korean musical troupe, also cancelled its performances, shared The Guardian.
The abrupt departures may be related to a rumor circulated by media in the South Korea, which also made rounds on Chinese social media, according to Yang Moo-jin, an expert on North Korea at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
The rumor of a past relationship between a female "Moranbong" band member and the married dictator may have been seen as mockery of its leader.
"There are few things the North takes more seriously than an attack on the dignity of its supreme leadership, and it might have decided to bring the female members of the band back quickly to cut off such reports," Yang said.
Since Kim rose to power in 2011, relations between China and North Korea have strained.
A publicized visit to Pyongyang by high-ranking Chinese official, Liu Yunshan in October showed that the relationship between the two countries may be on the mend. However, Kim's unwillingness to start denuclearization and the government's refusal to visit China have frustrated the leadership in China.
