South Korea’s art troupe will visit the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in late March to present two performances in Pyongyang in early April, Seoul’s unification ministry said Tuesday.
South Korea will send the art troupe, composed of 160 members, to the DPRK on March 31 to hold two concerts in Pyongyang during their stay through April 3, the ministry said in a statement.
The announcement came after South Korea and the DPRK held a working-level contact for the Pyongyang performance earlier Tuesday at Tongilgak, a DPRK building in the truce village of Panmunjom.
The South Korean artists will be composed of pop music singers including Cho Yong-pil, Lee Sun-hee, Choi Jin-hee, Yoon Do-hyun, Baek Z Young, Red Velvet, Jung-in, Seohyun and ALi.
The two concerts will be held at East Pyongyang Grand Theatre and Ryugyong Jong Ju Yong Gymnasium, both in the DPRK’s capital city.
The artists dispatch was agreed upon when special envoys for South Korean President Moon Jae-in met top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang earlier this month.
Moon and Kim agreed to hold their first summit in late April at Peace House, a South Korean building in Panmunjom. The two sides also agreed to set up a hotline between the leaders to ease military tensions and closely coordinate.
South Korea will send a preliminary inspection team to Pyongyang for three days from March 22 to discuss practical issues such as stage conditions and necessary equipment installations for performances of the art troupe.
The DPRK agreed to guarantee safety and convenience of the South Korean art troupe.
The two sides will discuss other practical issues in the form of document exchanges via the restored communications channel in Panmunjom.
The DPRK dispatched its art troupe in February to South Korea for concerts during the Winter Olympic period.
It also participated in the South Korea-hosted winter sports event, making the PyeongChang Winter Olympics a peace Olympic.