S. Korean singers' concert in Pyongyang delayed by two hours

A rare concert by South Korean singers in Pyongyang has been delayed two hours Sunday at North Korea's request, according to a pool report.

It was scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. (Seoul time) at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre, but the North requested a two-hour postponement for the "convenience of more audience," it said.

Eleven K-pop singers and performance teams plan to take the stage in the two-hour event titled "Spring Comes." They include Cho Yong-pil, Lee Sun-hee and girl group Red Velvet.

Girl group Red Velvet speaks to Korean audiences at Gimpo International Airport prior to their departure for Pyongyang on Saturday. (Yonhap)

They will perform again Tuesday at the Ryugyong Jong Ju Yong Gymnasium in the North's capital.

It marks the first performance by South Korean artists in the communist neighbor since 2005, when Cho had a solo concert in Pyongyang.

It's yet another fruit of the recent inter-Korean reconciliation driven by the PyeongChang Winter Olympics as the North has refrained from taking provocative acts.

In 2008, the New York Philharmonic performed at the Pyongyang theater. (Yonhap)