Hyundai chief extends N. Korea trip for second time

(ATTN: MODIFIES headline, UPDATES with Hyun staying in Pyongyang, background)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Yonhap) -- The chairwoman of South Korea's Hyundai Group extended
her North Korea trip for a second time on Thursday, the company said, suggesting
she has yet to meet with the country's leader over a detained employee.
Hyun Jung-eun was due to return later in the afternoon, ending a trip that had
already been extended by one day in order to secure the release of a Hyundai
worker who has been detained since late March. Seoul officials said there were no
indications yet to suggest that Hyun has met with the North Korean leader Kim
Jong-il, who was reportedly out of town.
"I just received a phone call (from Hyun's entourage in Pyongyang). Chairman Hyun
extended her stay for one more day," Cho Kun-shik, chief of Hyundai Asan Corp.,
the group's North Korea business arm, told reporters before heading to a joint
park north of the border. He did not say whether any reason was given for the
extension.
The Unification Ministry said it will approve Hyundai's request for the extension.
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.
The Hyundai Asan employee, only known by his family name Yu, is being detained
incommunicado 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
technician was working at the joint park in Kaesong that was developed by his
firm.
Hyundai also faces mounting deficits from its North Korea tour projects that were
suspended last year as inter-Korean relations unraveled.
Hyun was widely expected to meet with Kim, though the delay suggests that
negotiations over her agenda may not be going smoothly. The two met twice in 2005
and again in 2007 to seal tour deals.
Experts believe she will also play a mediating role between President Lee
Myung-bak and the North Korean leader.
Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said she saw "no indications to believe" Hyun's
meeting with Kim has taken place yet. But even if Hyun returns home without
seeing him, "that doesn't necessarily mean Mr. Yu won't be released," Lee said.
The North's Korean Central News Agency reported on Wednesday that Kim visited a
naval university and watched a play in Hamhung, South Hamgyong Province. The
reports, as is customary, did not provide the time of his activities, but their
timing suggests he likely stayed outside Pyongyang the whole day, government
sources said.
It was not immediately known whether Kim has returned to Pyongyang. Hyun was
still staying at the Paekhwawon State Guest House in the capital, Hyundai Asan
spokesman Kim Ha-young said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)