The all-female band formed by North Korean Leader Kim Jung Un, Moranbong Band, abruptly cancelled their concert in Beijing. The band went home on Saturday back to Pyongyang.
The Moranbong Band was visiting China along with North Korea's State Merited to perform later on Saturday at Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts. The band is Kim's project to make his own name in North Korean Arts.
The short haircuts of the group's young women members are trendsetting in the capital Pyongyang. The band made its debut on July 7, 2012. A member of the staff on the concert venue said that the show has been cancelled for some unknown reasons, as reported in THE JAPAN TIMES.
But as reported in The Sydney Morning Herald, China's official Xinhua news agency said the performance could not be staged as scheduled due to communication issues at the working level. It was the band's first overseas appearance.
Chinese state media said they were due to give three performances in Beijing but there was no answer from North Korea regarding the band's sudden departure. North had initially requested an audience that included President Xi Jinping or Premier Li Keqiang. China agreed instead to send a politburo member but then decided to send lower-ranking officials.
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. Several subsequent rounds of sabre-rattling by Pyongyang have also tested Beijing's patience.
Will this be another factor to increase the tension between the two countries or is it just a misunderstanding?