By Jon Herskovitz
PYONGYANG (Reuters) - The United States and North Koreahave fought a war and played at nuclear brinkmanship. OnTuesday night, they will seek a unique moment of unity when theNew York Philharmonic plays a concert in Pyongyang.
The unprecedented show comes as North Korea drags its feetover demands to hold to its side of an internationaldisarmament deal and own up to everything it has been doingover the years to develop nuclear weapons.
"We feel this opportunity will deepen a betterunderstanding and trust between the two countries," Pak Su-mi,a North Korean guide, told foreign visitors to the GreatPeople's Study House where North Koreans are allowed a highlyrestricted glimpse of the Internet using outdated computers.
Pak, speaking in English, was in traditional Korean dressand wore a badge -- as do most North Korean adults -- with aportrait of Kim Il-sung, the isolated state's founding leaderand who became its president for eternity after his death in1994.
Executive director of the New York Philharmonic, ZarinMehta, echoed her comments saying officials from both sideshoped the biggest U.S. group to visit since the 1950-53 KoreanWar would help normalise relations between the long-time foes.
"We have received the same message from the DPRK (NorthKorean) side that they wish to establish good relations," Mehtatold reporters in the first news conference ever to bebroadcast live outside the secretive state.
Mehta said six North Korean musicians had been invited toplay one piece with the orchestra during the concert.
SINCE LAST YEAR
Discussions for the concert first emerged last year assignificant progress was made in six-way nuclear negotiationsamong the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the UnitedStates.
Analysts say Washington sees this visit as akin to culturalovertures it made to other Cold War foes decades ago and whicheventually helped to ease tension.
London's Financial Times quoted a North Korean official assaying Pyongyang had invited British rock star Eric Clapton toperform there next year.
During this visit, North Korea has opened its normallytightly shut doors to scores of foreign journalists, allowingthem Internet access and almost completely unrestrictedinternational phone lines -- unheard of in a country thatimprisons people for unauthorised contact with the outsideworld.
NORTH KOREA DIPLOMATIC COUP
Analysts said that North Korea sees the event as its owndiplomatic coup.
Its propaganda machine will almost certainly spin the visitas a U.S. mission to pay tribute to its leader Kim Jong-il --as it portrays most events involving its Dear Leader and headof the world's first communist dynasty.
The two countries have no diplomatic ties, are technicallystill at war and have troops staring each other down across theheavily fortified border that has divided North and South Koreafor over half a century.
There is no word whether the enigmatic leader Kim willattend the concert.
It will open with the orchestra playing the nationalanthems of the two countries to an audience expected to be madeup of top cadres and generals who dominate the tightly-runstate.
The rest of the music selection for the New YorkPhilharmonic's concert is steeped in irony.
George Gershwin's "An American in Paris", the famed pieceabout a foreigner discovering the "the city of lights" will beplayed in an impoverished country which does not produce enoughelectricity to light its homes at night.
Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World",highlights an immigrant's discovery of America's music. It willbe played to in a country that forbids most of its citizensfrom leaving and reportedly executes many of those caughtescaping.
On Monday night, energy-starved North Korea lit the streetsof Pyongyang for the motorcade of buses carrying some 350people from the orchestra, its entourage and media covering theevent.
As the buses pulled away, a few street lights went outbehind them and through the rear-view mirror one sign couldstill be seen, which read: "Crush the American imperialistaggressors".
(Editing by Jonathan Thatcher and Sanjeev Miglani)
(Take a look at the Reuters Global News Blog for more onthe NY Philharmonic's visit:http://blogs.reuters.com/global/)