hankyoreh

widow of former president Kim Dae-jung

The North and South Korean sides are scheduled to meet at Kaesong on June 30 to discuss plans for Lee Hee-ho to visit North Korea. Lee is the widow of former president Kim Dae-jung (in office 1998-2003) and the chair of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center.

“Five South Koreans including director of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center and former Culture Minister Kim Seong-jae and Secretary-General Yun Cheol-gu will be visiting Kaesong at 10 am on June 30 to meet with North Koreans including Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee Vice Chair Maeng Kyong-il,” a spokesperson for the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center told the Hankyoreh over the phone on June 26.

“We are planning to propose that Lee Hee-ho visit North Korea before Aug. 15 and meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.”

On Friday, the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center asked South Korea’s Unification Ministry for permission to visit Kaesong in North Korea.

“The government will consider whether to allow the visit after assessing whether it is necessary and whether it satisfies the application requirements. The government has been actively providing support for private-sector exchange, humanitarian aid, and cooperation for public welfare in order to open routes for effective cooperation between North and South Korea,” Unification Ministry deputy spokesperson Lim Byeong-cheol said during the regular press briefing, hinting that the ministry would give the center the go ahead.

The schedule for the meeting was reportedly confirmed after the center proposed the meeting on June 18 and North Korea responded on June 22.

In a letter sent to Lee Hee-ho at the end of last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed his gratitude for flowers she had sent on the third anniversary of the death of his father and former leader Kim Jong-il, and invited her to visit North Korea. “I hope that you will come to Pyongyang next year when the weather is nice and spend some time relaxing and enjoying yourself,” Kim said in the letter.

This past April, the center planned for Lee to visit at the end of May and asked North Korea to hold a preliminary meeting, but those plans came to nothing when North Korea asked the center to get in touch later because of “complicated circumstances” at that time.

By Kim Oi-hyun, staff reporter

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