US Orchestra to Perform in North Korea

The New York Philharmonic Orchestra is scheduled to play its first concert in North Korea next year as the Bush administration strikes an increasingly harmonious chord with the former "axis of evil" nation.

The oldest orchestra in the US has accepted an invitation to perform in Pyongyang on February 26. Zarin Mehta, the Philharmonic's president and executive director, spent six days in North Korea exploring venues and other arrangements for a concert after North Korea's culture ministry sent the orchestra an invitation in August.

Coming little more than a year after North Korea tested its first nuclear bomb, the event at the East Pyongyang Grand Theater will be one of the most politically charged concerts in the modern history of classical music.

Despite reservations about human rights and the totalitarian rule of Kim Jong-il, the 250 members of the orchestra will take the opportunity to play a nationally broadcast set, which could include the Star Spangled Banner.

The US state department, which has helped with preparations, hailed the trip as a cultural breakthrough that showed the willingness of the notoriously reclusive state to open up as the two sides make progress on nuclear talks.

"I hope it will be looked back upon as an event that helped bring that country back into the world," Christopher Hill, US assistant secretary of state, told the New York Times. "It does represent a shift in how they view us, and it's the sort of shift that can be helpful as we go forward in nuclear weapons negotiations."

Underlining the political significance, senior government officials from both nations are due to attend a press conference today when details of the event will be announced. Several conditions had to be met before the orchestra agreed, including assurances for the eight Philharmonic members of Korean origin, guarantees that the Star Spangled Banner could be played, and a nationwide broadcast to reach out to an audience beyond the Pyongyang elite.

The acoustics will also be adjusted in the venue despite reports that they were personally determined by Kim, which usually means they are sacrosanct.

The orchestra is expected to visit after a tour of China before going on to Seoul for a concert funded by the South Korean broadcaster MBC, which is paying for the climate-controlled trucks needed to transport the instruments.

Historical comparisons are being drawn with the Boston Symphony Orchestra's groundbreaking trip to the Soviet Union in 1956, and the Philadelphia Orchestra's landmark tour of China in 1973.

But critics have warned that the tour could be used to strengthen the legitimacy of North Korea's oppressive government.

"It would be a mistake to hand Kim Jong-il a propaganda coup," said Richard Allen, a former national security adviser to President Ronald Reagan, in an opinion article.

Hopes of a thaw have risen since July, when North Korea shut down its nuclear reactor. Last week, President George Bush sent a letter to Kim - the first known direct correspondence between the leaders. Analysts believe the president has changed tack because North Korea represents a possible foreign policy success that could soften a legacy that will otherwise be remembered for the debacle of Iraq.

The trip could be put in jeopardy if North Korea fails to meet an end-of-year deadline to disable and fully account for its nuclear weapons program, or if the US fails to meet Pyongyang's expectations on the normalization of diplomatic relations.