S. Korean delegation requests visit to N. Korea

SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean delegation, including former aides to the late President Kim Dae-jung, has asked the government for permission to visit North Korea following an invitation from the country, a government official said Sunday.

On Friday, North Korea's point man on South Korea, Kim Yang-gon, asked that former aides to the late president and officials of South Korea's Hyundai Asan Co. visit the North's border city of Kaesong this week.

In a message sent to the South's Ministry of Unification, which handles inter-Korean affairs, Kim said he would like to express thanks to the aides and officials who visited Kaesong on Tuesday to commemorate the third anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-il, the communist country's late leader and father of current leader Kim Jong-un.

The invitation came as a surprise as the delegation had already been thanked by Won Dong-yon, the deputy head of North Korea's United Front Department and vice chairman of the Asia-Pacific Committee, during their visit.

"Following the North's request, officials from the Kim Dae Jung Peace Center and Hyundai Asan made a request to visit the North on the 24th (Wednesday)," a unification ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We plan to make a decision on whether to approve (the request) around the 23rd."

All cross-border exchanges are subject to prior approval by the government.

Among the delegation members is Rep. Park Jie-won of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, who served as the late president's chief of staff during his term from 1998 to 2003. Kim Dae-jung held the first-ever inter-Korean summit with the then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2000, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize the same year.

Also among the members is Hyun Jeong-eun, the chairwoman of Hyundai Group, which operated a joint tour program on the North's scenic Mount Kumgang for a decade before halting it in 2008 following the shooting death of a female South Korean tourist there.

In August, North Korea sent a wreath of flowers commemorating the fifth anniversary of the death of the late South Korean president.

The exchange of visits comes as government-level dialogue has been suspended amid strained ties.

hague@yna.co.kr
(END)