Ex-first lady, Hyundai CEO visit NK today

By Park Si-soo

Former first lady Lee Hee-ho will visit North Korea overland today to offer private condolences to the late leader Kim Jong-il.

Lee, the wife of the late former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, will be accompanied by 17 other entourage members, including Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, the Ministry of Unification said Sunday.

This delegation’s visit comes at a sensitive time for the nuclear-armed North that is undertaking a dramatic transition of power to the late dictator’s third son, Kim Jung-un, following the announcement of his father’s death last Monday. Kim died of heart attack on Dec. 17, the North said.

North Korean media lauded the young Kim as “supreme commander” on Saturday, the latest in a series of efforts to install him as the country’s next leader.

Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the North’s ruling Workers' Party, urged the heir to accept the top military post in a Saturday article: “Comrade Kim Jong-un, please assume the supreme commandership, as wished by the people.”

The South Korean government expressed sympathy to North Korean people in a speech delivered one day after Kim’s death was announced, but it fell short of sending an official condolence delegation, citing Pyongyang’s refusal to apologize for the two deadly attacks on South Koreans last year.

No government officials and politicians are included in the delegation, meaning the visit is unofficial.

The delegation will cross the border into the North overland Monday morning and return home Tuesday. Kim’s funeral is planned for Wednesday.

The South has banned condolence visits to Pyongyang by South Korean citizens, except for the delegation amid a deepening ideological rift in the wake of Kim’s death.

Pyongyang has lashed out at the restriction, warning that it would bring about “unpredictable catastrophic consequences.”

North Korea experts here cautiously raise the possibility that the delegation might have a chance to meet the new North Korean leader. If realized it would be the third son of the late dictator’s first public meeting with South Koreans.

Crossing the inter-Korean border, the delegation will drive toward the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, where the junior Kim has received mourners since last Monday.

Lee’s husband, the late President Kim hosted the first-ever South-North summit in 2000, while Hyun’s late husband Chung Mong-hun actively pushed for joint inter-Korean business projects.

The Unification Ministry rejected plans by the former first lady to travel with influential figures. Among those rejected were Rep. Park Jie-won of the main opposition Democratic Unity Party who served as chief of staff to the late President Kim and Lim Dong-won, former director of the National Intelligence Service. The two were key backers of Kim’s trademark Sunshine Policy for reconciliation with North Korea.

On their way back home, the former first lady may stop by the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, a joint industrial park built by South Korea in the North’s border city, according to her aides.

Meanwhile, the North warned Sunday of “unpredictable catastrophic consequences” for cross-border relations unless Seoul eases restrictions on visits by South Koreans to mourn its late leader.

“The South Korean puppet authorities’ unethical acts bereft of elementary etiquette and compatriotism have touched off unanimous outrage and wrath among Koreans and all other people of the world,” a spokesman for the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea told the official news agency. “The South Korean authorities should bear in mind that their obstructions will entail unpredictable catastrophic consequences to north-south relations.”

Analysts said the former first lady will be well received in the North, and raised the possibility of the North delivering some message to the South through her.

“The late President Kim Dae-jung and his wife are viewed in the North as a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation. The former first lady is extremely frail. Given this, Kim Jong-un will express his gratitude for her condolences,” said Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea expert at Seoul’s Dongguk University.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies, said, “Kim Jong-un could deliver his message to the Seoul government during a meeting with Lee. He could talk about issues related to inter-Korean relationships.”