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China still mum on N. Korean band’s abrupt cancellation

December 15, 2015

North Korea’s Moranbong Band had been scheduled to perform in Beijing last Saturday, but abruptly headed home hours before the concert began. (Yonhap)

BEIJING (Yonhap) — China’s foreign ministry on Tuesday remained tightlipped on the reason for the sudden cancellation of a concert in Beijing by an all-female band formed by the North’s leader Kim Jong-un.

North Korea’s Moranbong Band had been scheduled to perform in Beijing last Saturday, but abruptly headed home hours before the concert began. China’s official Xinhua News Agency attributed the cancellation to unspecified “communication issues.”

South Korea’s intelligence agency told Rep. Joo Ho-young, head of the National Assembly’s intelligence committee, on Monday that the cancellation might have been related to a dispute between North Korea and China over the band’s performance full of songs praising leader Kim.

Asked about the possible reason, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei replied, “I have nothing new to add” to the Xinhua report.

During a regular press briefing on Monday, Hong gave little away on what the “communication issues” were, why the concert by North Korea’s Moranbong Band was canceled, or how it would impact bilateral relations with North Korea.

North Korea’s state media has published no reports about the cancellation.

The concert had been seen as a fresh sign that ties between the allies were getting warmer after years of strain over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.