By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
A six-member North Korean delegation will arrive in Seoul today for a two-day visit to pay respects to the late former President Kim Dae-jung.
The government reviewed the North Korean request and approved it in accordance with the bereaved family's wishes and inter-Korean relations, Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said Thursday. A state funeral service for Kim will be held in the National Assembly Sunday.
The delegation includes Kim Ki-nam, a secretary of the Workers' Party Central Committee; Kim Yang-gon, a party department director in charge of inter-Korean affairs; and Won Tong-yon, a ranking member of the (North) Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, which handles inter-Korean affairs.
Kim Ki-nam is known to be a key confidante of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. He reportedly accompanied the leader 57 times during his inspection tours this year.
^The three other people in the delegation are Maeng Kyong-il and Ri Hyon, both officials of the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, and Kim Un-ju, an official of the National Defense Commission.
The North's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee sent the list of delegates to the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center in Seoul, an aide to the late former President said.
The North Korean delegates will arrive at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul aboard a special plane via a West Sea route around 3:10 p.m., the aide said.
Hopes are growing that the visit will provide a thaw in inter-Korean relations but the unification ministry said no official meeting is planned.
"No meeting with South Korean officials has been set and we have not received any request yet,'' Chun said.
North Korea's state-media previously reported that Pyongyang will send the group to pay respects to the late Kim, architect of the Sunshine Policy of engaging North Korea.
Upon the authorization of Kim Jong-il, a special group led by Kim Ki-nam will visit Seoul from Aug. 21 to 22 to mourn over the death of former President Kim, the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KNCA) said.
Kim Ki-nam is often seen in public accompanying Kim Jong-il. He visited Seoul in 2005 to participate in a festival commemorating Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule (1910-45). During the visit, he paid a courtesy call to former President Kim at the Yonsei Severance Hospital where he underwent treatment for pneumonia.
Their visit is expected to better relations between the two Koreas on the heels of Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun's trip to the communist state from Aug. 10 to 17. She successfully secured the release of a South Korean detainee and gained promises to resume suspended joint projects after a meeting with Kim Jong-il.
``If North Korea sends a high-level delegation to Seoul, the South Korean government should take the visit as an opportunity to restore inter-Korean relations,'' Cheong Seong-chang of the Sejong Institute said in a column.
He continued, ``It could positively affect future negotiations regarding a reunion of displaced families and the operation of a joint industrial complex in Gaeseong.''
Pyongyang last dispatched a delegation in 2001 when Chung Ju-yung, founder of the Hyundai Group, died.
But conservatives advised the government to unify the communication channels. They noted that North Korea is in contact with private organizations, including Hyundai and the Kim Dae-jung Center. Pyongyang has not directly contacted Seoul.