Kim Jong-un’s Moranbong Band cancels Beijing show

It began with a warm send-off from Pyongyang for the North Korean pop group Moranbong Band but ended with the abrupt cancellation of the Beijing show by the all-woman combo formed by leader Kim Jong-un.

Moranbong were visiting China along with the State Merited Chorus and were all set to perform at Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts on Saturday, with state media showing the women leaving their hotel.

However, then came a report on the official Xinhua news agency saying that a performance by North Korea’s answer to the Spice Girls “cannot be staged as scheduled due to communication issues at the working level, according to relevant departments”.

The cancellation of a propaganda extravaganza to mark relations between two countries famously “as close as lips and teeth” caused widespread speculation about what happened.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, citing government sources, China had decided to send only lower-ranking cadres to the propaganda band’s show, a response to show their anger at Mr Kim’s boast last week that the North possessed a hydrogen bomb.

The Xinhua statement merely said, cryptically, that “China attached high importance to the cultural exchanges with the DPRK, and was ready to continue to work with it to promote the bilateral exchanges and co-operation in culture and all other areas”.

Spokesman Hong Lei told the regular foreign ministry news conference he had nothing to add to the Xinhua report and he echoed the sentiment about cultural exchanges and co-operation.

While South Korean K-Pop girl bands such as Girls’ Generation and 2NE1 are all the rage south of the 38th parallel that divides the two Koreas, separated and hostile since the end of the Korean War (1950-53), north of the border Moranbong, also known as Moran Hill Ensemble, are, erm, the bomb.

Formed in 2012, their debut show featured Mickey and Minnie Mouse and other Disney characters and it was at a Moranbong show the world first met Mr Kim's wife, Ri Sol-ju. Their shows feature pictures of Mr Kim and patriotic footage, including rockets being launched.

Their short skirts and synthesisers have caused a sensation but since a period of austerity two years ago, they tend to appear with the conservative State Merited Chorus.