Labor leaders travel to N. Korea amid surge in inter-Korean visits

SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Yonhap) -- A group of South Korea's labor union leaders traveled to Pyongyang on Friday, buoyed by recently rekindled civic-level exchanges despite lingering tension between the two governments.

The conservative Lee Myung-bak government asked civic groups to refrain from
North Korea visits following the shooting death in July of a South Korean tourist
in a North Korean mountain resort. Tour programs are still suspended, but civic
organizations have recently resumed arranging inter-Korean meetings amid loosened
government control.
A 27-member delegation of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the more
radical of the country's two umbrella labor unions, traveled to Pyongyang on a
direct flight earlier in the day and is scheduled to meet with the group's North
Korean counterpart and visit farms during their four-day trip, union spokesman
Park Seong-shik said.
"In terms of labor exchange since 1999, the KCTU has sent food and aid equipment
to flood victims in North Korea via its North Korean counterpart, the General
Federation of Trade Unions of Korea," Park said.
The other umbrella union, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, visited North
Korea earlier this month to sign an agreement with the North Koreans to hold
regular labor meetings.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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