S. Korea not to ask ex-first lady to deliver gov't message to N. Korea
By KH디지털2Published : Aug. 3, 2015 - 12:02
The Unification Ministry said Monday it is not considering asking a former first lady to deliver a government message on inter-Korean relations to North Korea when she visits there this week.
Lee Hee-ho, the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, plans to visit North Korea from Wednesday to Saturday by low-budget local plane for humanitarian purposes. The 93-year-old Lee was the South's first lady during Kim's five-year tenure until 2003.
The ministry said it is not considering asking Lee to convey a special message to the North on the Seoul government's behalf when she visits.
"As Lee will visit the North in a private capacity, the government is not considering sending a special message to the North," Park Soo-jin, the deputy spokeswoman for the Unification Ministry, said in a regular press briefing. "Government officials will also not accompany Lee."
Park said that the government has received an application to visit the North from the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center, the organizer for the trip. Any South Korean's visit to North Korea is subject to government approval.
The Kim Dae-jung Peace Center said Thursday that it would disclose the delegation details on the day of departure, so that there would be no unnecessary misunderstandings regarding the trip.
In early July, the North threatened to cancel Lee's visit if Seoul continued to make provocations against Pyongyang.
Lee's visit is raising expectations that it will help ease the strained inter-Korean ties, as the two countries are to mark the 70th anniversary of their liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule this year. (Yonhap)
Lee Hee-ho, the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, plans to visit North Korea from Wednesday to Saturday by low-budget local plane for humanitarian purposes. The 93-year-old Lee was the South's first lady during Kim's five-year tenure until 2003.
The ministry said it is not considering asking Lee to convey a special message to the North on the Seoul government's behalf when she visits.
"As Lee will visit the North in a private capacity, the government is not considering sending a special message to the North," Park Soo-jin, the deputy spokeswoman for the Unification Ministry, said in a regular press briefing. "Government officials will also not accompany Lee."
Park said that the government has received an application to visit the North from the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center, the organizer for the trip. Any South Korean's visit to North Korea is subject to government approval.
The Kim Dae-jung Peace Center said Thursday that it would disclose the delegation details on the day of departure, so that there would be no unnecessary misunderstandings regarding the trip.
In early July, the North threatened to cancel Lee's visit if Seoul continued to make provocations against Pyongyang.
Lee's visit is raising expectations that it will help ease the strained inter-Korean ties, as the two countries are to mark the 70th anniversary of their liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule this year. (Yonhap)