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North Korean Orchestra Plans to Perform in South Korea During Winter Olympics

HONG KONG — A 140-member North Korean pop orchestra will stage rare performances in South Korea during the Winter Olympics next month, the two Koreas agreed on Monday. The two sides discussed details of the North’s participation in the Games as part of their efforts to improve ties.

The orchestra, known as the Samjiyon Band, one of the North’s top arts troupes, will enter South Korea by crossing over at Panmunjom, a border village, and will perform twice in the South: once in Seoul, the South Korean capital, and once in Gangneung, a city on the east coast where some of the Olympic competitions will be held.