A North Korean orchestra will perform in a joint concert with a French orchestra in Paris next month as part of a cultural exchange program, according to a South Korean conductor.

Chung Myung-Whun said the North's Unhasu Orchestra would perform with the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra in the Salle Pleyel theatre on March 14.

The 59-year-old, who leads the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and serves as the music director for the French orchestra, met with North Korean officials in Beijing on Sunday.

Some 90 North Koreans including 70 musicians will visit Paris, he said, adding that 140 artists from both nations will play together.

As a UNICEF "goodwill ambassador," he visited Pyongyang last September to meet with North Korean artists and watch their performances.

The North invited the New York Philharmonic for a historic concert in Pyongyang in 2008 in an apparent bid to thaw ties with Washington.

Cross-border ties have been icy since Seoul accused Pyongyang of torpedoing one of its warships with the loss of 46 lives in March 2010.