Democratic Party’s Rep. Park Jie-won who chairs the National Assembly’s special committee on inter-Korean relations requested the government on Friday to permit his visit to North Korea to deliver Seoul’s position to break through the frozen relations.

“Allow me the opportunity to meet with such figures as North Korea’s Kim Yong-nam, chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, and Kim Ki-nam, Workers’ Party of Korea secretary, to explain the views of our government and President Park Geun-hye,” Park said during a radio interview.

The former chief of staff to late President Kim Dae-jung said he was not necessarily volunteering to be Park’s special envoy but that he would like a chance to talk with the North Koreans as a parliamentary representative.

Earlier, Park had sent a letter urging for North Korea to make the call to normalize the suspended Gaeseong industrial complex. He said he believed North Korea was remaining mute to Seoul’s latest proposal for talks as it was preoccupied with its internal events and that it seems to be observing the situation.

(jhl@heraldcorp.com)