hankyoreh

a secretary with the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee 2. Kim Yang-kon

The Kim Dae-jung Peace Center announced the composition of the North Korean mourning delegation on Thursday. They disclosed that a delegation of high-ranking influential figures will be visiting and will be led by Kim Ki-nam, a secretary with the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee who had history with late President Kim.

Kim Ki-nam, who is serving as both head of the mourning delegation and a special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, visited late President Kim Dae-jung when the latter was hospitalized at Yonsei’s Severance

Hospital after the secretary had attended the August 15 Grand National Festival in 2005. Kim Ki-nam relayed to Kim Dae-jung then that the invitation to visit Pyongyang during a nice season still stood, and when he recovered, he and the former First Lady should definitely visit. The next year, the former president pushed for a visit to Pyongyang, but was unable to realize it due to deteriorating inter-Korean relations and the termination of the trial run of the inter-Korean railroad.

The naming of the 83-year old secretary as head of the delegation seems to have been made out of consideration of his history

with Kim Dae-jung. A secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea is considered a powerful figure and is responsible for agitprop activities and historical issues. Kim has accompanied Kim Jong-il on 59 site-visits this year, more than any other high-ranking official.

Kim Yang-kon, the director of the United Front Department of the Workers’ Party, has no particular history with the late president. Some are saying the inclusion of Kim Yang-kon, who is in charge of North Korea’s South Korea policy, in the delegation despite his lack of history with the late president indirectly, reveals North Korea’s preparation for possible contact with South Korean authorities.

Analysts say Director Kim has played the role of “ice breaker” on diplomatic occasions, including in talks between Kim Jong-il and former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and meeting with Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun. He has played a leading role in setting up the October 2007 summit between Kim Jong-il and late South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun. Kim also serves as chairman of the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and some are saying he could be seen as providing a potentially private or nongovernmental channel of communication.

Won Dong-yon, the director of the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, has been a fixture in major high-level inter-Korean contacts for the past 20 years. This time around, he plays the role of midwife to the delegation, and serves as the working-level link with the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center. Maeng Kyong-il, another official from the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, has attended inter-Korean ministerial-level talks as head of the North Korean delegation and is said to be an excellent writer.

The North Korean delegation is scheduled to travel directly to late President Kim’s lying-in-state room at the National Assembly building in Yeouido after arriving at Gimpo Airport on Friday afternoon. After paying their respects, it is believed there could be a possibility of a brief talk with Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, who is heading the funeral preparations. If such a talk comes to pass, it will go down as the first exchange between high-ranking North Korean and South Korean officials of the Lee administration.

Observers suggest the North Korean delegation may then travel to pay a courtesy call on former First Lady Lee Hee-ho, and is expected to attend a luncheon afterwards prepared by the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center. The luncheon is expected to be a closed-door affair, attended by a few people.

Within the two-day, one night itinerary prepared by the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center, the delegation has no official appointment scheduled between the luncheon on Friday and their return to North Korea at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. It appears the schedule is left open in the hopes that North Korean and South Korean officials could use the “free time” for government-to-government talks. The North Korean mourning delegation will be staying at the Grand Hilton Hotel in Seoul’s Hongeun-dong, and their schedule could change at their request.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]