S Korea musicians to play first concert in North since 2007

SEOUL: K-pop stars will play the first concerts by South Korean artists in the North for more than a decade, officials said, as the dramatic thaw in relations kicked off by the recent Winter Olympics gathers pace. Seoul will send a total of 160 performers to Pyongyang for a four day visit from March 31 to April 3, according to a statement issued after interkorean talks at the border truce village of Panmunjom. The group will include local pop legends Cho Yong-pil and Choi Jin-hee, fivemember K-pop group Red Velvet and Seohyun, a member of the famous K-pop group Girls' Generation. They will stage the first performances by South Korean acts in the North since 2007. "It was not easy to select songs that are wanted by both sides," Yoon Sang, South Korea's chief delegate to the talks, told a press briefing on Tuesday.