ID :
74995
Wed, 08/12/2009 - 20:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/74995
The shortlink copeid
All eyes on Hyundai chief possibly meeting with N. Korean leader
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Hyundai Group chairwoman remained in Pyongyang for a third day on a mission to bring home a detained employee, drawing keen attention to a possible meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il later Wednesday.
Hyun Jung-eun extended her trip for one day until Thursday amid North Korean
media reports that Kim has been out of town for a public inspection. The two met
twice in 2005 and again in 2007.
"The government approved the extension of the trip," Unification Ministry
spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said.
Hyun drove to Pyongyang on Monday in the wake of former U.S. President Bill
Clinton's visit there to meet with the North Korean leader and win the release of
two American journalists last week.
An employee of Hyundai Asan Corp., the group's North Korea business unit, has
been detained in the North since late March on accusations of criticizing the
North's political system and trying to persuade a local woman to defect to the
South. The 44-year-old, only identified by his family name Yu, was working at a
joint industrial park in the North's border town of Kaesong.
North Korea has denied Seoul access to Yu and refused to discuss his case in
government-level talks, only saying an investigation was underway.
Hyundai also faces mounting deficits from its North Korea tour projects that were
suspended last year as inter-Korean relations unraveled.
Yu's case and the stalled ventures are key agenda items for the Hyundai chief,
but experts believe she will also play a mediating role between President Lee
Myung-bak and the North Korean leader. The mood across the peninsula shifted in
favor of dialogue following Clinton's trip, but Hyun, as a non-governmental
figure, has only limited capacity, said Paik Hak-soon with the non-governmental
Sejong Institute in Seoul.
"Mutual trust between the governments is now damaged, and Hyun is serving as a
bridge," Paik said. "She took Seoul's message and will come back with a message
from Pyongyang. But then, officials will have to meet to make real progress."
Seoul officials said they were not sure whether Kim was now back in Pyongyang.
The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), in an early morning dispatch on
Wednesday, said Kim inspected the Kim Jong Suk Naval University in the northern
town of Hamhung. His brisk public tours this year appeared to indicate he is back
in full command after allegedly suffering a stroke a year ago.
In a rare case, Hyun's father-in-law and Hyundai's late founder Chung Ju-yung
flew into an eastern North Korean naval base to meet with Kim during a visit to
Pyongyang in 2000.
"The location makes no difference. It's only because of (the North Korean
leader's) schedule," said Kim Young-soo, a Hyundai Asan spokesman.
In a positive sign, North Korea gave a hearty welcome to the Hyundai chief,
opening the land border for her drive to Pyongyang and sending a high-level
official, Ri Jong-hyok, to receive her.
Sources in Seoul said Hyun appeared to be staying at the Paekhwawon State Guest
House, North Korea's highest-level guest house where Clinton stayed and dined
with Kim.
The KCNA said Hyun was visiting at North Korea's invitation. Hyun was accompanied
by her daughter and heir-apparent, Chung Ji-yi, who was present in all of her
previous meetings with Kim.
The trip came as North Korea faced tightening U.S. sanctions over its nuclear
test in May.
The Treasury Department on Tuesday froze the U.S. assets of Korea Kwangson
Banking Corp. for alleged involvement in Pyongyang's missile and nuclear
programs. Washington officials say U.N. sanctions will continue to be enforced on
North Korea and are unaffected by Clinton's visit.
Hyundai has invested US$1.2 billion to open joint ventures in North Korea over
the past decade, but they hit a snag last year as political ties frayed. The
conservative Lee government took a tough stance on North Korea's nuclear program
and cut off massive economic aid, prompting North Korea to retaliate by
suspending dialogue and threatening joint industrial projects.
The South Korean government suspended Hyundai's major tourism program to North
Korea's Mount Kumgang in July last year after a female tourist was shot dead by a
North Korean solider there.
Another Hyundai tour program to the historic border town of Kaesong was closed by
North Korea in December in retaliation against the South's hard-line posture.
Hyun took over as the group chief after her husband, Chung Mong-hun, took his own
life in 2003 amid mounting deficits from North Korean ventures and an
investigation into allegations of a secret payment to North Korea.
SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Hyundai Group chairwoman remained in Pyongyang for a third day on a mission to bring home a detained employee, drawing keen attention to a possible meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il later Wednesday.
Hyun Jung-eun extended her trip for one day until Thursday amid North Korean
media reports that Kim has been out of town for a public inspection. The two met
twice in 2005 and again in 2007.
"The government approved the extension of the trip," Unification Ministry
spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said.
Hyun drove to Pyongyang on Monday in the wake of former U.S. President Bill
Clinton's visit there to meet with the North Korean leader and win the release of
two American journalists last week.
An employee of Hyundai Asan Corp., the group's North Korea business unit, has
been detained in the North since late March on accusations of criticizing the
North's political system and trying to persuade a local woman to defect to the
South. The 44-year-old, only identified by his family name Yu, was working at a
joint industrial park in the North's border town of Kaesong.
North Korea has denied Seoul access to Yu and refused to discuss his case in
government-level talks, only saying an investigation was underway.
Hyundai also faces mounting deficits from its North Korea tour projects that were
suspended last year as inter-Korean relations unraveled.
Yu's case and the stalled ventures are key agenda items for the Hyundai chief,
but experts believe she will also play a mediating role between President Lee
Myung-bak and the North Korean leader. The mood across the peninsula shifted in
favor of dialogue following Clinton's trip, but Hyun, as a non-governmental
figure, has only limited capacity, said Paik Hak-soon with the non-governmental
Sejong Institute in Seoul.
"Mutual trust between the governments is now damaged, and Hyun is serving as a
bridge," Paik said. "She took Seoul's message and will come back with a message
from Pyongyang. But then, officials will have to meet to make real progress."
Seoul officials said they were not sure whether Kim was now back in Pyongyang.
The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), in an early morning dispatch on
Wednesday, said Kim inspected the Kim Jong Suk Naval University in the northern
town of Hamhung. His brisk public tours this year appeared to indicate he is back
in full command after allegedly suffering a stroke a year ago.
In a rare case, Hyun's father-in-law and Hyundai's late founder Chung Ju-yung
flew into an eastern North Korean naval base to meet with Kim during a visit to
Pyongyang in 2000.
"The location makes no difference. It's only because of (the North Korean
leader's) schedule," said Kim Young-soo, a Hyundai Asan spokesman.
In a positive sign, North Korea gave a hearty welcome to the Hyundai chief,
opening the land border for her drive to Pyongyang and sending a high-level
official, Ri Jong-hyok, to receive her.
Sources in Seoul said Hyun appeared to be staying at the Paekhwawon State Guest
House, North Korea's highest-level guest house where Clinton stayed and dined
with Kim.
The KCNA said Hyun was visiting at North Korea's invitation. Hyun was accompanied
by her daughter and heir-apparent, Chung Ji-yi, who was present in all of her
previous meetings with Kim.
The trip came as North Korea faced tightening U.S. sanctions over its nuclear
test in May.
The Treasury Department on Tuesday froze the U.S. assets of Korea Kwangson
Banking Corp. for alleged involvement in Pyongyang's missile and nuclear
programs. Washington officials say U.N. sanctions will continue to be enforced on
North Korea and are unaffected by Clinton's visit.
Hyundai has invested US$1.2 billion to open joint ventures in North Korea over
the past decade, but they hit a snag last year as political ties frayed. The
conservative Lee government took a tough stance on North Korea's nuclear program
and cut off massive economic aid, prompting North Korea to retaliate by
suspending dialogue and threatening joint industrial projects.
The South Korean government suspended Hyundai's major tourism program to North
Korea's Mount Kumgang in July last year after a female tourist was shot dead by a
North Korean solider there.
Another Hyundai tour program to the historic border town of Kaesong was closed by
North Korea in December in retaliation against the South's hard-line posture.
Hyun took over as the group chief after her husband, Chung Mong-hun, took his own
life in 2003 amid mounting deficits from North Korean ventures and an
investigation into allegations of a secret payment to North Korea.
