US-based group performing in N. Korea

Members of the 150-member Sons of Jubal chorus and orchestra will perform at the Spring Friendship Art Festival, which started on Wednesday and runs through April 19. Global Resource Services, an Atlanta-based humanitarian group, is coordinating the cultural exchange. “The theme of the festival is friendship, and with the conflict between our countries we always think any way we can try to build goodwill people-to-people that’s private, not government, is a good thing to do,” said Global Resource Services President Robert Springs. The festival attracts between 600 and 800 performers a year from up to 60 countries. The trip comes as North Korea fueled up a rocket Wednesday in preparation for what appeared to be an imminent liftoff that North Korean officials have characterized as a peaceful civilian bid to send a satellite into space.