N. Korean delegation due in Seoul to pay respects to late president

SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean delegation was due in Seoul later
Friday to pay respects to the late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, providing
a chance for dialogue between the two Koreas that remain locked in a prolonged
stalemate.

At the heavily-fortified inter-Korean border, North Korea was normalizing traffic
for South Korean workers and cargo trains as part of its pledge to revitalize
joint economic projects.
A six-member North Korean delegation was set to arrive at Seoul's Gimpo Airport
in the afternoon to pay tribute to the late president, who held the historic
first inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2000. The
group's two-day visit here is the first by North Korean officials during the 18
months of Seoul's conservative Lee Myung-bak government.
The makeup of the top-notch delegation and the decision to stay overnight in
Seoul has raised speculation that a high-level inter-Korean dialogue, possibly
with Unification Minister Hyun In-taek, may be held during the visit.
"We have no plan for a meeting nor have we received a request. We will be
reviewing (the possibility) depending on circumstances," ministry spokesman Chun
Hae-sung said Thursday.
The delegation is led by Kim Ki-nam, a Workers' Party Central Committee secretary
most frequently included in the entourage accompanying the leader's public
activities, and includes Kim Yang-gon, head of the party's unification front
department and long-time head of inter-Korean relations.
The group will come by direct flight from Pyongyang and head to the National
Assembly in western Seoul where a memorial altar is set up.
Other specifics of their itinerary, including where they will stay until their
departure Saturday afternoon, were not disclosed by Seoul officials, who have
imposed strict restrictions on media access.
"It's for security reasons," a Seoul official involved in the arrangement said.
In another major conciliatory move, North Korea sent a fax message Thursday
saying that starting Friday it would lift all cross-border traffic bans imposed
since December to protest Seoul's hard-line policy.
Such fence-mending gestures follow dramatic trips to North Korea by former U.S.
President Bill Clinton and South Korea's Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun
earlier this month, each of whom had hours of talks with the reclusive North
Korean leader.
In the meeting with the Hyundai chief, Kim agreed to "energize" inter-Korean
projects and reopen the border for joint tourism ventures and separated family
reunions, which were suspended as political relations chilled last year.
Meanwhile, South Korea proposed inter-Korean talks to set up family reunions on
the traditional Korean holiday of Chuseok in early October. The reunions have
been suspended for nearly two years.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)