The well-known English guitarist Eric Clapton has been invited to perform in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), next year, according to a report by Financial Times on Tuesday.
Eric Clapton performs.?(File photo)
The invitation will boost hopes that the DPRK is growing more interests in building cultural bridges to the outside world, the report said.
The New York Philharmonic is performing in Pyongyang on Tuesday night. The DPRK's State Symphony Orchestra plans to perform in London this summer.
According to the report, Pyongyang has invited Clapton, whose hits include "Cocaine" and "Tears in Heaven," as a reciprocal visit for the DPRK orchestra tour.
"These cultural exchanges are a way of promoting understanding between countries... We want our music to be understood by the Western world and we want our people to understand Western music," a DPRK official told the Financial Times.
Clapton had agreed "in principle" to the idea, suggesting 2009 for the concert, the official said.
(Xinhua News Agency February 27, 2008)