North Korea cancels plans to send Kim Jong-un’s ex-lover to South Korea for diplomatic talks about Winter Olympics
NORTH Korea has cancelled plans to send Kim Jong-un's ex lover to the South for diplomatic talks.
Hyon Song-wol was due to lead a high-level delegation to South Korea for crunch Winter Olympics discussions.
But negotiations scheduled for this weekend have been called by officials in Pyongyang, according to reports.
The North notified the South that it will suspend the seven-member team's trip slated for Saturday to check the venues for its proposed art performances in Seoul and Gangnueng, 260 kilometers east of the capital, the ministry said.
The North did not reveal the reason.
The ministry said that it will check details through a border hotline between the two Koreas.
Hyon Song-wol, leader of the all-female Moranbong Band, was supposed to lead the delegation for a two-day trip.
The band was created by an order of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in July 2012 and features Western-style music and outfits.
The move to send her to Pyongyang came four years after the pop icon was said to have been executed by firing squad in front of her family after sex tapes of her and fellow performers went on sale.
In working-level talks with the South held Monday, North Korea agreed to send a 140-member art troupe, consisting of an orchestra, singers and dancers, for concerts in the South.
The art troupe will be part of a North Korean delegation to the Feb. 9-25 Olympics that will also include athletes and high-ranking officials.
Hyon attended the inter-Korean dialogue held Monday as North Korea's vice chief delegate.
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She was the only woman participating, cementing her status as one of the most powerful women in North Korea outside the Kim family.
As a result of the meeting, North and South Korea agreed to form the first joint Olympic team and march under a unified flag at the PyeongChang opening ceremony.
The two countries also announced their decision to form a united women's hockey team for next month's Winter Olympics in the South.
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