By Kim Young-jin
North Korea said Friday it would accept all South Korean delegations wishing to cross the border to offer condolences for the loss of late ruler Kim Jong-il, despite Seoul’s restrictions on such groups.
The announcement came two days after the Lee Myung-bak administration, in a bid to show flexibility as the North launches its new government, said it would allow only two selected groups to offer condolences but not an official delegation.
Pyongyang’s website Uriminzokkiri (among our people) announced the North had made preparations to accept any South Koreans and that their safety would be guaranteed. It urged Seoul to show “due respect,” implying that it wanted the official delegation.
The South has taken steps since Kim’s death was announced Monday to smooth relations as Pyongyang’s regime led by Kim Jong-un, the late ruler’s youngest son, finds its feet.
Those include the delegations led by Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun and former first lady Lee Hee-ho, who will make the trip in reciprocation for Northern delegations sent here after the deaths of their husbands. The government has also expressed sympathy to the North Korean populace for the loss.
Hyun and Lee could meet with Kim Jong-un, Yonhap News Agency said, in what would be the young leader’s first talks with South Koreans.
The wives of former Hyundai Group Chairman Chung Mong-hun and late former President Kim Dae-jung, respectively, are finalizing the details of their travel with the government.
The gestures went further than when Kim’s father, country founder Kim Il-sung, died in 1994, when the Kim Young-sam administration did not express condolences or send a delegation.
The propaganda website warned that cross-border ties could deteriorate if the South blocked citizens from visiting. Trips to the North have been rare in the wake of its two deadly provocations last year.
“North-South relations are at a critical juncture,” it said in an apparent warning to Seoul to change its stance from 1994, saying failure to do so would be taken as an insult.
The North’s latest announcement appeared to be a move to wrong-foot Seoul but the South said it would stick to its decision.
Observers said such remarks could stir controversy in the South, where parties starkly differed over the condolence issue.
The remarks were a reminder of the tensions that persisted between the Lee government and the North Korean regime under Kim Jong-il. Lee followed a tough line on the North when he took office in 2008, halting massive aid and tying its provision to denuclearization steps.
Analysts said the North appears to want to boost the new regime’s legitimacy by hosting South Korean delegations and that its tough wording was not likely to escalate into a bigger problem given regional hopes to see stabilization in the nuclear-armed state.
All eyes have been on the North since its announcement of Kim’s death, as it is widely believed that his son, thought to be 28 years old, will face huge challenges to take on unquestioned power in the Stalinist state.
The North is seen to be focusing intensely on securing stability while the nation observes an official mourning period that wraps up Thursday. The junior Kim is said to be heavily aided by his uncle, Jang Song-thaek, a political heavyweight.
The Lee administration is also allowing selected citizens and private organizations to send personal condolences via mail or fax.