Free Republic

Why N. Korea won't be worried by its recent reputational disasters Debacles of recent Orascom investment and Morangbong visit to China will have little impact Andrei Lankov December 17th, 2015 The end of 2015 was marked by two events which, at the first glance, would be likely to damage the international standing of North Korea. In late November the Egyptian building and telecom company Orascom finally admitted what had been known in narrow circles for two years: that its North Korean state partners had taken over the joint Koryolink cellphone network, and that Orascom had been unable to reap any...

Why N.Korean Girl Band Canceled Beijing Gig The all-girl North Korean pop band Moranbong abruptly canceled a concert series in Beijing on Saturday because Beijing objected that their program was chock-full of paeans to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, intelligence officials here believe. China was going to send a politburo member to the concert, but decided on a lower-ranking official when it discovered the contents of the show, Saenuri lawmaker Joo Ho-young quoted the National Intelligence Service as saying. "The NIS viewed this perceived slight as the primary reason for the abrupt cancelation," Joo added. Radio Free Asia quoted a...

China had decided to send lower ranked officials to canceled N. Korean concert 2015/12/13 14:01 BEIJING, Dec. 13 (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...

Chinese censors are scrubbing sites of mentions of North Korean girl band By Victoria Ho 19 minutes ago After the Moranbong Band's abrupt cancelation of their performances in Beijing over the weekend, it appears Chinese censors went to work deleting speculation and chatter about the North Korean girl band on mainland sites. The Moranbong Band, whose members were said to be handpicked by North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, were on a goodwill mission to Beijing and were set to perform three concerts starting Saturday night. But just hours before the first, they abruptly canceled the gig and headed home on...

(2nd LD) N. Korean band's performance in Beijing canceled: theater 2015/12/12 19:08 BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- Performances by North Korea's all-female propaganda band in Beijing were canceled, an official at a Chinese theater said Saturday, with members of the band abruptly heading back to Pyongyang. The Moranbong Band had been scheduled to perform for three days in Beijing from Saturday, in an apparent sign of warming relations between the two countries. "The performance was canceled," said the official at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. The official declined to give his name. Officials at China's foreign...