An all-female North Korean pop group formed by leader Kim Jong Un abruptly canceled a Beijing concert due to "communication issues" and headed home, Chinese media and the concert venue said.
The Moranbong Band was visiting China along with North Korea's State Merited Chorus and had been due to perform at Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts on Saturday.
A member of staff who answered the telephone at the venue said the show had been canceled for unknown reasons while China's official Xinhua news agency said the performance could not be staged as scheduled due to "communication issues at the working level".
The band is Kim's pet project as he tries to put his personal stamp on the North Korean arts, and the short haircuts of the group's young women members are trend-setting in the capital, Pyongyang.