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Following the New York Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance in Pyongyang on Tuesday, North Korea invited world-renowned guitarist Eric Clapton to present a concert in its capital city. These and other recent efforts by North Korea to engage in cultural diplomacy have attracted the attention of the international community, as it waits to see whether this form of exchange will lead to improved diplomatic relations that could help to overcome the current slow-down in the denuclearization process.

North Korea has occasionally participated in other kinds of cultural exchange. The reclusive country invited the Grammy Award winning U.S. gospel group Casting Crowns to a spring art festival held in Pyongyang last April, and has sent its circus team to perform in foreign countries. Last year, Casting Crowns was seen singing a North Korean song on the U.S. Internet site YouTube.

The United States has conveyed messages of reconciliation in the past via cultural exchange carried out by organizations when it wanted to improve ties with countries including former Soviet Union, China and Vietnam.

After attending Tuesday’s concert in Pyongyang, former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry urged the United States to invite North Korea’s State Symphony Orchestra to perform in the country, according to an Associated Press report. The report went on to quote Perry as saying that the world would not be able to demonize North Koreans while listening to their music, which could in turn eliminate the possibility of war. North Korean Culture Minister Kang Neung-su said that the North’s orchestra would be given permission to go to the U.S. if it receives an invitation to do so.

The recent news that North Korea had invited British musician Eric Clapton to give a concert in Pyongyang at the beginning of next year shows the North’s interest in cultural diplomacy. Following its recent efforts to engage in cultural exchange with the United States, the North appears to be extending the gesture to Europe. North Korea’s State Symphony Orchestra is scheduled to perform in Britain in the fall, becoming the centerpiece of the North’s move toward cultural diplomacy. Many of the members of the North Korean orchestra, which is under the baton of Lee Hyang-sook, studied in foreign countries. Lee studied at Universitat der Kunste Berlin in Germany.

In a telephone interview with the Yonhap News Agency on February 26, an official at the North Korean Embassy in London confirmed that the nation is pushing ahead with its plans for a performance by the British singer, and remarked that cultural diplomacy, including exhibitions and concerts, should be the first to take place in order to improve mutual understanding among nations. Regarding the North Korean orchestra’s performance in Britain, he said, “It will be an opportunity for them to fully understand North Korea, which has been known as an poor and isolated nation.”

Some observers say that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s disposition may have influenced the promotion of cultural diplomacy. Kim is known to have a keen interest in music. Professor Lee Hyeon-ju of Asia University said that Kim is well versed in music. Kim’s second son, Kim Jong-chol, was said to have played a part in bringing about the invitation of Clapton, according to some sources. Japan’s Fuji Television broadcast images of Jong-chol, who once formed a rock band, watching the popular guitarist’s tour of Germany in 2006.

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