Neil Connor Daily Telegraph wrote: North Korean attempts to deploy ‘Spice Girl diplomacy’ to repair strained relations with China ended in apparent failure last night after an all-girl band formed by leader Kim Jong-un cancelled a highly-anticipated show in Beijing and headed home.
The first ever foreign performance by the Moranbong band had been billed a “friendship show” by official North Korean media, and pictures of the women saluting proudly as they left Pyongyang for Beijing earlier this week featured widely in both countries.
But the latest images which emerged on the Chinese Internet on Saturday showed them marching through a terminal at Beijing Airport in their long coats and tall fur hats as a throng of bystanders took pictures on their smartphones.
There were conflicting reports on how many performances Moranbong were to give in Beijing, and China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts told The Telegraph earlier this week that no tickets were available, suggesting the shows were invite-only.
The same venue posted an announcement on its website Saturday saying that the shows had been cancelled, but without explanation.
One Chinese journalist speculated that the group had refused to perform after Chinese officials requested a change in lyrics, but no official explanation has been given.
