Kim Jong-un's pop propaganda girl group to perform in China

Moranbong Band's six-day tour of dancehall diplomacy is designed to rebuild bridges damaged by North Korea's missile and nuclear tests.

State media reports that the all-girl ensemble is scheduled to perform in China in the next few days, with analysts suggesting that the tour is part of a charm offensive. Photo / Supplied

The Moranbong Band ticks all the boxes of a manufactured girl group: the brainchild of a powerful svengali, they mix tight choreography and skirts with dashes of Western pop culture.
It is perhaps the titles of their songs - The Silk Weaving Girl of Nyongbyon, We Can't Live Without His Care and Fluttering Red Flag - that give away their North Korean origins.
For the Moranbong Band were reputedly handpicked by Kim Jong Un. Now they are about to engage in dancehall diplomacy, embarking on an international tour for the first time.
State media reports that the all-girl ensemble is scheduled to perform in China in the next few days, with analysts suggesting that the tour is part of a charm offensive on the part of Pyongyang as it attempts to rebuild bridges with Beijing.
Ties between the two erstwhile allies have been strained since shortly after Kim Jong Un came to power in late 2011.

The fledgling dictator chose to ignore heavy hints from Beijing to cancel the test-launch of a ballistic missile in April 2012 and, in a development that infuriated China, went ahead with North Korea's third underground nuclear test in February 2013.
Reportedly created by Kim after he inherited the leadership, the 21-strong Moranbong Band arrive in China today for a six-day tour, according to the Korea Central News Agency.
The venues for their performances, alongside North Korea's State Merited Chorus, have not been announced, although KCNA said the tour will "contribute to deepening friendship and boosting cultural and artistic exchanges between the peoples of the two countries".
"Pyongyang is clearly trying to mend its ties with China, although it's not clear what the impact of this kind of 'soft power' will have," said Professor Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at the Japan campus of Temple University.
"There are encouraging signs that the relationship is coming out of the deep freeze and Beijing will be very keen to get North Korea back to the negotiating table on things like the nuclear question", he said.
"For China, the biggest worry is the threat North Korea poses to its own security, whether in terms of its nuclear weapons or a regime collapse that would have a serious impact on the border region".
Propping up the regime in Pyongyang may help to preserve the uneasy status quo on the peninsula, although the longer term outlook remains deeply uncertain, analysts say.
With their short skirts and performances that borrow heavily from Western pop productions - light shows, big-screen backdrops and choreographed moves. But the Moranbong Band still serve as ambassadors of North Korea with songs celebrating hardworking labourers and the strong - but kind - hand of their leader.
That is an impressive resurrection after reports in the South Korean media in September that they had fallen foul of one of Kim's frequent purges. After not performing for seven months, they finally reappeared on September 7 in a concert for a state delegation from Cuba.