LONDON:

The well-known English guitarist, Eric Clapton, has been invited to perform in North Korean capital Pyongyang next year, a Financial Times report said on February 26. The invitation will boost hopes that North Korea is growing more interests in building cultural bridges to the outside world, the report said. The New York Philharmonic, one of the famous symphony orchestra of the US, began an unprecedented concert on Tuesday evening at the East Pyongyang Great Theatre.

The State Symphony Orchestra of North Korea also plans to perform in London this summer in its mega cultural exchange programme.

According to the report, Pyongyang has invited Clapton, whose hits include Cocaine and Tears in Heaven, as a reciprocal visit for the Pyongyang 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 top North Korean official told the Financial Times. Clapton had agreed “in principle” to the idea and suggested to hold his concert in 2009, the official said.