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Joss Stone performs in North Korea as she attempts to visit every country in world

Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to isolated country

Roisin O'Connor
Music Correspondent
Thursday 14 March 2019 11:09 EDT
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Joss Stone reveals fear over crossing Syria border for gig

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Joss Stone performed at a bar in North Korea as part of her effort to play in every country in the world.

The Devon-born artist was photographed in a bar in the capital Pyongyang, and visiting various sites around the city.

She said that Simon Cockerell, who runs Koryo Tours trips into the isolated country, helped her get into North Korea.

The US state department has issued an advisory prohibiting Americans from visiting North Korea “due to the serious risk of arrest and long-term detention of US nationals”.

British citizens are not barred from the country, but the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel. It also warns that those who do go should follow their tour group’s advice as failure to do so could put their personal safety at risk.

Stone wrote on Instagram that she had learned a Korean song for the trip.

“I am learning a song called arrirang which apparently is the national song of Korea as a whole which is nice,” the post read.

She was referring to “Arirang”, a Korean folk song that has been included on the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage list by both South and North Korea.

Earlier this month the singer crossed the border into Syria, before making her way into Iraq.

“It was a little scary crossing the border as of course we have absolutely no idea what might transpire,” she wrote on Instagram. “We just have to trust the people on the ground that are advising us and looking after us”.

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