NK girl band's China tour to mend ties
Moranbong Band, North Korea’s all-female pop group, performs in this photo released by the North’s Korean Central News Agency, Wednesday. / Yonhap
By Kim Hyo-jin
North Korea’s all-girl Moranbong Band’s visit to China is expected to improve relations between the two countries, paving the way for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s first trip to Beijing, analysts said Friday.
In addition, the possible stronger Sino-North Korea ties could help warm inter-Korean relations, they said.
The pop band, handpicked by the North Korean leader in 2012, is visiting Beijing at the invitation of China’s Communist Party, and will perform alongside another North Korean band, the State Merited Chorus, at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing from Saturday to Monday.
“The North is sending signals that it wants to get bilateral relations with China back on track,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies.
Yang said the North Korean leader is impressing his changed diplomatic stance on China by sharing the performance of the all-female propaganda act, whose music is characterized by openness and receptivity to change.
The band is known for its unprecedented skimpy outfits and extravagant performances with synthesizer-backed music.
An Chan-il, the head of the World North Korea Research Center, also noted that Pyongyang is seeking to improve bilateral relations, aiming at Kim’s potential visit to Beijing in spring.
Although Kim took power in December 2011, he is yet to travel to China, North Korea’s biggest ally, let alone have a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping -- a sharp contrast with President Park Geun-hye’s six summits with Xi.
An said the North Korean leader is using a tactic from his late father and former leader Kim Jong-il.
In May 2010, Kim Jong-il sent the Pibada Opera Troupe, North Korea’s most famous performers at that time, to China to create a warmer atmosphere between the two countries, before his state visit.
Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University, echoed the view, saying: “It reflects improved bilateral relations and suggests a higher possibility of Kim to visit in May.”
China also hailed the band’s visit, expecting it will lead to improved ties with the North.
“North Korea is our close neighbor, and we continue to develop our bilateral ties,” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said during a press briefing, Wednesday. “We believe such people-to-people exchanges in various forms are conducive to mutual understanding and friendship.”
Relations between North Korea and China have soured since the North’s third nuclear test in February 2013. In addition, the purge of Jang Song-thaek, Pyongyang’s point man for relations with Beijing, aggravated the already troubled relationship.
However, there have been signs of a thaw, with Liu Yunshan, China's fifth-highest ranking official, visiting for the 70th anniversary of the North Korean Workers’ Party in October.
The analysts also expected that the warmer ties may lead to a diffusing of tensions between South and North Korea, who have shown little reconciliatory signs since the Aug. 25 agreement calling for inter-Korean cooperation.
“In the process of thawing relations between North Korea and China, Kim’s willingness to open up to South Korea can be delivered while Beijing shows its support in doing so,” Kim said. “Also, Kim’s flexible attitude toward diplomacy could have a positive impact on facilitating ongoing Seoul-Pyongyang talks.”
The two sides held a vice ministers’ meeting at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North to mend frayed ties.