Ex-first lady visits Pyongyang

By Kim Hyo-jin

Former first lady Lee Hee-ho voiced hopes that her visit to North Korea will lead to better inter-Korean relations ahead of a four-day trip to the repressive state, Wednesday.

Lee, 93, the widow of late President Kim Dae-jung, arrived in Pyongyang after taking off from Gimpo International Airport on low-cost airline Eastar Jet at 10 a.m.

“Lee hopes that her visit could pave the way for continuous dialogue and exchange between the two nations,” Kim Sung-jae, former culture minister who serves as her spokesman, told reporters before the departure.

“She expressed hopes that Koreans could heal the pain of 70 year-long division and reconcile each other based on the spirit of the June 15 Joint Declaration.”

Her visit was made at the invitation by North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un in December.

The young leader proposed Lee’s trip to Pyongyang in a letter sent to express his gratitude for her sending a wreath commemorating the third anniversary of the death of his late father Kim Jong-il.

The North has yet to confirm whether Kim will meet Lee during her visit.

Her visit drew much attention on hopes that it may bring a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations in the year marking the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule and the division of the Korean Peninsula.

The bilateral relations have stalled in recent years since the North’s torpedoing of the frigate Cheonan and artillery attacks on Yeonpyeong Island in 2010.

With Seoul’s economic sanctions against the North continuing, relations have been further strained since a U.N. office tasked with monitoring North Korea’s human rights abuse opened here in June.

The rival parties released a statement later that day that stated, “We hope Lee’s visit could become a way-out of the frayed inter-Korean relations.”

Despite high hopes, some speculate that it won’t have much impact at a governmental level.

Seoul had shown passive attitude, while stressing that Lee visited the North in a private capacity.

“Even though Lee’s visit itself is truly meaningful, we don’t consider delivering a special message to the North on the government’s behalf,” Park Soo-jin, vice spokeswoman of the unification ministry said Tuesday.

Pyongyang, too, has not made any special comment on Lee’s visit.

Lee’s itinerary includes visits to a children’s hospital, a nursery facility in Pyongyang and Mount Myohyang in North Pyongan Province. She plans to deliver knitted hats and clothes to North Korean children.

A hot line and fax connected to Seoul’s unification ministry will be installed in Lee’s accommodation, Baekhwawon and Myohyang Hotel in Pyongyang, according to Kim.

The spokeswoman explained they are for “communications in the case of schedule change or emergency.”

She was accompanied by the 18-member delegation including Kim, Baek Nak-cheong, an honorary professor at Seoul National University, and Chang Choong-sik, chairman of the board of Dankook University.