Eric Clapton has been invited to play a landmark concert in communist North Korea, according to an official at the country’s embassy in London.

The confirmation follows a report in today’s Financial Times which claimed that North Korea had invited Clapton to perform in the capital Pyongyang in 2009.

"It will be a good opportunity for Western music to be understood better by Koreans,” an embassy official told AP.

The concert would be the first time that the country has extended an invitation to a Western pop star.

If it takes place, the concert would be seen as a major breakthrough in relations between the North Koreans and the western world.

In an unexpected move, this week North Korea allowed the New York Philharmonic Orchestra to enter the country to play a special concert.

(by Jason Gregory)