Coming a few months after North Korea and China exchanged high-level visits – KWP Secretary Choe Ryong-hae visited Beijing for a military parade in September, while Chinese Politburo Standing Committee member Liu Yunshan went to Pyongyang for the 70th anniversary of the KWP’s founding – the musical performances were seen as a goodwill tour to cement gains in China-North Korea ties.
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One such band was (is?) led by sexy, rumored former girlfriend of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and rumored recently executed singer, Hyon Song-wul. The cancellation has yet again highlighted the mercurial nature of Kim’s reclusive regime in North Korea.
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China is North Korea’s main economic and diplomatic backer, but was infuriated in 2013 when Kim ordered the carrying out of the country’s third nuclear test. The group was seen hastily departing for Beijing airport on Saturday afternoon, catching the next Air Koryo flight back to Pyongyang. Some held bags or travel cases.
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Soon thereafter, the images and information were deleted.
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.
A member of staff who answered the telephone at the venue said the show had been cancelled for “some unknown reason”.
The surprise move, the very first time the group would have performed outside North Korea, created a significant amount of excitement among some young Chinese, although the concerts were to be invitation only. Both the band and chorus had arrived by train in Beijing on Thursday. Chinese state media said they were due to give three concerts in Beijing.
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. So it’s hard to get the two sides on the same page.
They mystery surrounding the hurried departure of Kim Jong-Un’s girl group from China may have been solved.
Cheong Seong Chang, a senior analyst with the Sejong Institute think-tank in Seoul, said there were indications that Kim on Saturday had declared a mourning period ahead of the fourth anniversary of the death of his father next week.
But the two appear to be trying to mend those ties, and China certainly doesn’t want errant Weibo posts to rock the boat. Ultimately, it all depends on what “gifts” North Korea will present to China. Relations between Beijing and Pyongyang have reportedly been strained since Kim Jong Un came to power four years ago, but there have been signs of a thawing in recent months. Instead, President Park Geun-hye of South Korea was an honored guest, standing near Xi and President Vladimir Putin of Russian Federation on the rostrum at Tiananmen Square.
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North Korea did not offer an explanation, and the Chinese state-run press cited “communication issues at the working level” for the cancelation. Some Chinese internet users suggested the band’s cancellation is linked to North Korea’s announcement that it had developed a hydrogen bomb.
