hankyoreh

widow of former President Kim Dae-jung

Procedures are under way for an upcoming North Korea visit by the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung.

A Ministry of Unification official said on Nov. 6 that the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center submitted a notice of “contact with North Koreans” the previous morning for the upcoming visit by Lee Hee-ho, Kim’s widow.

“The notice met the conditions, and we accepted it,” the official said.

The filing of a notice of contact is a preliminary step in the official request for a North Korea visit, which the center plans to submit once the schedule, location, and visiting party size are finalized through further contact with North Korea. South Koreans need Ministry of Unification permission for any contact with North Korea in advance, and must report any contact that takes place by happenstance.

The center said it plans to discuss the dates and so forth by fax with North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.

“No decision has been made yet on whether [Lee] will meet Kim Jong-un, or who she will see while she is there,” it added.

Lee has expressed the wish to help public health efforts for infants and breastfeeding mothers in North Korea.

Lee met President Park Geun-hye at the Blue House on Oct. 28 to express her wish to visit North Korea, to which Park responded that she would “take the opportunity.”

Lee also visited North Korea in 2000 for her husband’s inter-Korean summit, and in 2011 after the death of Kim Jong-il.

By Choi Hyun-june, staff reporter

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