A renowned South Korean conductor said Wednesday his push along with the Seoul metropolitan government for an orchestra performance in Pyongyang will likely bear fruit soon, raising the prospect of the South Korean musical group's first concert in the North Korean capital in a decade.

    "There will be good news (regarding the plan)," Chung Myung-whun told Yonhap News Agency after finishing a performance in Hong Kong as part of an Asian concert tour by the Amsterdam-based orchestra that he leads. The tour is also to take the conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) to Shanghai and Beijing.

   "I cannot give details, yet, but things are going well and I will meet North Koreans in Beijing during the tour period and discuss the matter," he said.

   The last time the two Koreas' philharmonic orchestras held joint concerts was roughly a decade ago during the presidency of Kim Dae-jung, who advanced the conciliatory Sunshine Policy toward the North. One joint concert was held in 2000 in Seoul followed by one in Pyongyang two years later.

   In September, Chung, who also leads the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and doubles as a UNICEF "goodwill ambassador," made a day trip to North Korea and said he agreed with North Korean musicians to hold regular joint performances by the two countries' orchestras to ease cross-border tensions.

   If the Seoul city orchestra holds a concert in the North Korean capital, the musical event will likely be accompanied by an inter-Korean soccer match as part of an exchange program between the two cities.

   The Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, gave a positive response to the proposed exchange program between the two capitals, according to the Seoul mayor, who is seeking to secure government permission before discussing specifics with the North.

   "Minister Yu reacted positively," Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon told Yonhap News Agency after his meeting with Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik.

   The minister added that the program should be pursued as a non-political event and have a positive impact on inter-Korean relations, according to Park. 

   The number of inter-Korean exchange programs has decreased under President Lee Myung-bak's hard-line policy toward the communist regime and after several deadly conflicts near the Inter-Korean sea border heightened tensions between the two Koreas. (Yonhap News)