We now know why Kim Jong-un’s girl band had to cancel their Beijing performance:
Hyon Song-wol (L), leader of North Korea’s all-female band, arrives at a Beijing hotel on Dec. 11, 2015. The Moranbong Band came to China the previous day for what will be its first performance abroad, a move that North Korea watchers say is a gesture by Pyongyang to mend somewhat strained ties with Beijing. Hyon was once rumored to have been executed for distributing pornographic videotapes. The Moranbong Band, formed by the North’s current leader Kim Jong-un in 2012, will perform for three days in the Chinese capital. (Yonhap)
China had decided to send officials of lower rank to a concert by the all-female North Korean propaganda band in response to the North’s leader Kim Jong-un hinting earlier last week that Pyongyang had developed a hydrogen bomb, a source in Beijing close to the situation said Sunday.
The decision might have been related to the sudden cancellation of the concert by the North Korean side, said the source, who got the information from a Chinese government official with knowledge of the situation.
The Moranbong Band, formed in 2012 following an order from leader Kim, had been scheduled to perform for three days in Beijing starting Saturday, in what was seen as a fresh sign of warming relations between the two allies.
However, the band abruptly headed home hours before the invitation-only concert began Saturday. [Yonhap]
