Japanese conductor Michiyoshi Inoue will conduct Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in Pyongyang on Friday amid heightened tensions North Korea's rocket launch in December and its third nuclear test in February, according to his official website.

Inoue is visiting North Korea for a week through Saturday at the invitation of the North's State Symphony Orchestra, according to the website and the Choson Sinbo, the newspaper of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.

It is the second time that Inoue, who serves as music director of Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture, has traveled to North Korea for musical exchanges since October 2011, the Choson Sinbo said.