Hyundai Chairwoman to Return to Seoul Today
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun is to return to Seoul today after extending her stay in North Korea twice.
She did not provide any reasons for the extensions, unification ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said.
But expectations are high for improved inter-Korean relations, according to North Korea observers here.
There are also mounting calls for the Lee Myung-bak administration to adopt a softer tone and move to improve ties.
"Her visit could be leveraged to improve inter-Korean ties," said Prof. Yang Moo-jin at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
Paik Hak-soon, an analyst at the Sejong Insitute, also speculated on the possibility of warmer relations on the Korean Peninsula, saying "North Korea is well aware that the normalization of inter-Korean relations is necessary to improve ties with the United States."
They advised the government to show a different attitude in developing relations.
"The two Koreas lack trust, so North Korea may try to test South Korea's willingness to implement the inter-Korean accords," Paik said.
Chairman Chung Sye-kyun of the main opposition Democratic Party also urged the government to improve relations with Pyongyang.
"In a commemorative ceremony on Aug. 15, President Lee is advised to declare that all inter-Korean accords will be honored and implemented," he said in a press conference at his office, Thursday.
Pyongyang has maintained the position that talks with Seoul will be impossible unless President Lee publicly announces that he will implement the June 15 Joint Declaration and Oct. 4 accord signed by former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun.
Chung also asked North Korea to open communication channels with international society and resume dialogue with South Korea.
The reclusive state cut off all communication channels with South Korea last year and refused to hold negotiations in retaliation for Seoul's tougher stance toward its regime.
The Hyundai Group chief crossed the inter-Korean border Monday in an apparent attempt to win the release of an employee being held in North Korea.
The 44-year-old Yu working in the Gaeseong Joint Industrial Complex by Hyundai Asan was detained on March 30.
He is accused of making derogatory comments about the North Korean regime and attempting to entice a woman to defect to the South.
The North has not allowed a meeting with Yu, who has been detained for 137 days.
Hyun made the trip to the secretive state in the wake of former U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to Pyongyang and the safe return of two detained American journalists last week.