Girl Band Moranbong Heads Back To North Korea After Abruptly Cancelling Its Beijing Concert Series; Sources Say Things Turned Sour After Kim Jong Un's 'H-Bomb' Announcement
North Korean girl group Moranbong has cancelled their concert series in Beijing just three hours before they were to stage a show on Saturday.
Chosun Ilbo reported Monday, Moranbong was supposed to kick off their concert series on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, where they were expected to perform in front of a crowd of 2,000 Chinese officials and guests.
However, the band boarded an Air Koryo flight at around 4 p.m. that day to return to Pyongyang before they could even open their first show.
North Korea's national choir, which was expected to perform with Moranbong, also left Beijing mid-rehearsals.
To explain the abrupt change of plans, China's state-run broadcasting network Xinhua News reported that the cancellation was due to communication problems.
Diplomatic sources in Beijing also pointed out the China's act of replacing the politburo member who looked after the group with a lower-ranking official must have turned things sour for the two nations. Chosun Ilbo noted that the change was made after Kim Jong Un announced that the North has developed a hydrogen bomb.
According to Yonhap News, the North Korean band was sent to Beijing to hold a series of "friendship" performances, which marks the development in China and North Korea's ties.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said, "China attached great importance to the cultural exchanges with the DPRK (North Korea), and was ready to continue to work with it to promote the bilateral exchanges and cooperation in culture and all other areas."
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."
Moranbong is reportedly Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un's favorite band. The group was sent to China by North Korea's propaganda chief Kim Ki Nam.
