Isolationist North Korea has been enjoying a little cultural exchange lately, with the New York Philharmonic kicking it Pyongyang this week and the slightly more formally monikered North Korean State Symphony Orchestra paying a visit to the U.K. this fall, but now the country has broken a major cultural taboo by seemingly lifting a longtime ban on decadent Western rock music to invite a certain guitarist over for a working vacation.

Yes, there may be tears in Communist heaven come 2009 if Eric Clapton accepts the offer rumored to be proffered thanks to Kim Jong Chol, Dear Leader’s blues-loving offspring, with a North Korean diplomat claiming that “it will be a good opportunity for Western music to be understood better by Koreans.” Clapton’s camp is yet to confirm the trip, but if it comes off, it will be interesting to see if Slowhand ends up having any influence on the country’s rousing workers’ anthems of the sort captured on the endlessly fascinating Radio Pyongyang.

Eric Clapton Invited To Play North Korea [AP / Photo: AP]

P.S. Any complaints over translator’s inaccuracies should be directed towards the good people at dictionary.com.