Mick Hartley

There seems to be a problem with the Winter Olympics detente. From the South Korean Chosun Ilbo:

North Korea's Samjiyon Orchestra arrived in South Korea by ferry on Tuesday but did not get off and refused to attend a welcome dinner hosted by the South Korean government. They also refused to look around the venue in Gangneung, Gangwon Province where they are scheduled to perform on Thursday.

The Unification Ministry did not say exactly why the North Koreans behaved with such bad grace, but they may have been upset by anti-North Korean protests in Mukho port, where their ship is docked.

Instead, the 114-strong orchestra including bandleader-cum-apparatchik Hyon Song-wol spent their first night in South Korea holed up on the Mangyongbong-92, which also serves as their accommodation during their stay….

The last time the Mangyongbong-92 came to South Korea was during the Asian Games in Busan in 2002, when the ship carried North Korean cheerleaders. Back then, hundreds of South Korean citizens showed up to welcome the North Koreans. But this time the crowds were mostly conservative activists who waved the South Korean and U.S. flags chanting "Mangyongbong go home!" and "pull down the North Korean flag!" and played the South Korean anthem.

Some protesters burned a North Korean flag and ripped up a picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. 

Oh dear, they wouldn't have liked that. But hey – welcome to the free world.

More on the Samjiyon Orchestra here.