According to KCNA, the leader received a report from the orchestra about the atmosphere during their performances and said he was pleased that “the fellow countrymen in the South, including President Moon Jae-in and his wife expressed satisfaction over the performances”.
Concerts in South Korea by the orchestra, led by Hyon Song-wol, who is also part of the famous North Korean all-female band Moranbong, were a part of agreements signed in January by the two Koreas about the North’s participation in the Winter Olympics, which started on February 7 in PyeongChang.
The group held a concert on February 8 in the South Korean city of Gangneung, an Olympic venue, and another on Sunday 11 in the National Theater of South Korea, attended by Kim Yo-jong, the North Korean leader’s sister and Kim Yong-nam, leader of the North’s national assembly.Samjiyon’s performances were the first by North Korean artists in the South since 2002.
