(AP) In an act widely interpreted as an olive branch following the failure of the Hanoi Summit, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame today announced a surprise late addition to its list of 2019 inductees. Joining Radiohead, Janet Jackson, the Cure, and Def Leppard will be North Korea’s very own Moranbong Band!

Formed in 2012 the 20-piece all-female band rapidly rose to dominance in the DPRK hit-parade, where their short hair and skirts as well as a willingness to cover western rock canon classics such as the Theme from Rocky and Oh Susanna marked them as a different beast to anything that had come before.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame spokesman Michael A Dupname made a brief statement on this shocking addition, “for too long the world has overlooked the great strides being made in the field of Rock & Roll in places such as North Korea, we are proud therefore to announce the induction of the Moranbong Band into our institution, we sincerely believe that they have had as great an effect on the world of music as any of the other inductees this year, plus nobody has actually listened to Roxy Music in decades, so this is also a way to inject a bit more youth spirit and internationalism to the 2019 list”

Reached for comment in Pyongyang by WhatsApp the Moranbong Band’s manager declined to connect our reporter to any of the band’s actual members but did comment that he was completely unaware of what the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame actually is and when told who his band would be inducted alongside did cite fellow 2019-inductee Stevie Nicks as an inspiration for the band “with her amazing vocals, and strong sense of public morality and patriotism”

Some North Korea watchers have seen this as a behind-the-scenes move engineered by the Trump Administration to reach out to the North Korean leadership in a less direct way than recent unsuccessful high-level diplomatic missions. Professor Abraham Andrayovich at Sandford University when reached for comment said “connecting over a shared love of music may well be the best way forward for the two sides to continue improving relations, if this means that Kraftwerk have to wait one more year to get into the Hall of Fame then that should be a small price to pay for a track 2 diplomatic path that may lead to a great breakthrough if the Moranbong Band do attend the induction ceremony and perform with Janet Jackson, that would be the biggest ticket in town for sure”

It is believed that a new wave of 'music diplomacy' may be on the cards following the groundbreaking gig in a bar in Pyongyang by British chanteuse Joss Stone in March, organised by travel and cultural exchange company Koryo Tours; the only reliable name in DPRK travel, to be trusted for 364 days out of every year!

1st April 2019