The South Korean government on Monday approved an opposition lawmaker's plan to visit North Korea this week intended to deliver a wreath commemorating the communist neighbor's late leader.
   
Rep. Park Jie-won of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy plans to make a one-day trip to the Kaesong Industrial Complex on Tuesday, leading a seven-member delegation from the Kim Dae Jung Peace Center in Seoul, according to the unification ministry.
   
Park, who was a close aide to the late President Kim Dae-jung, will convey the wreath from Kim's wife, Lee Hee-ho, on the occasion of the third anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-il, father of the current leader, Kim Jong-un.
  

It is to reciprocate the North's wreath in August to mark the fifth anniversary of the former South Korean president's death.
  
"Today, the government approved the North Korea trip (by Rep.
Park) in consideration that the (planned) delivering of the wreath is a reciprocal move," ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said at a press briefing.
   
He added that the North has notified the peace center of its decision to send Won Dong-yon, the deputy head of the United Front Department and vice chairman of the Asia-Pacific Committee, to receive the wreath.
   
A separate delegation from the South's Hyundai Asan Co. is also scheduled to visit Kaesong, along with the lawmaker, said the ministry.
  
Headed by the firm's chief, Cho Kun-shik, it is to hand over condolence flowers from the Hyundai Group's chairwoman, Hyun Jeong-eun. The group used to operate several inter-Korean businesses currently in suspension, including a tour program to Mount Kumgang.
   
The lawmaker's upcoming visit to the North provides a rare chance for a meeting with North Korean officials, with government-level dialogue between the two sides suspended.
   
The ministry spokesman, however, cautioned media against excessive expectations, saying the lawmaker is visiting North Korea this time in a "pure humanitarian" move.
   
Park also said on his Twitter account that he will just carry a "routine condolence message" from the former first lady, dismissing speculation about the possibility that his trip will produce any immediate breakthrough in efforts to warm inter-Korean ties. 
   
Neither reporters nor camera crews will be allowed to accompany the delegation, he added. (Yonhap)