The widows of former President Kim Dae-jung and former Hyundai Asan chairman Chung Mong-hun returned home on Tuesday after their high-profile trip to Pyongyang to express condolences over the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
In the morning, former First Lady Lee Hee-ho and Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun met the North’s titular head Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and expressed “deep condolences” over Kim’s demise, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
During the meeting at the Mansudae Assembly Hall, the two women expressed hope the joint declarations signed during inter-Korean summits in June 2000 and October 2007 will be implemented, and said that they will make efforts for this, the KCNA reported.
On Monday, they met Kim Jong-il’s heir, Jong-un, and paid tributes to the late leader at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace where his body is laid in a glass coffin ahead of his funeral set for Wednesday.
Hyun said she had no private talks with the heir who North Korean state media have referred to as top leader both in the military and ruling Workers’ Party.
“(I) just expressed my sympathy. I had no separate talks (with Jong-un) and did not meet him separately,” she told a throng of reporters at the Dorasan immigration office near the border.
She added that Jong-un’s personality and impression “was what was seen in the media.”
She said no discussions were held with Kim Yong-nam over the possible resumption of cross-border businesses.
“We talked about general issues as I visited the North purely for the mourning purpose,” she said.
The two delegations they led crossed the heavily fortified border on Monday for a two-day visit. Seoul allowed only them to visit Pyongyang to reciprocate the North’s delegations that attended the funerals for Kim and Chung in 2009 and 2003, respectively.
Their visit drew keen attention here as the new North Korean government could convey a significant message to South Korea.
Observers attached special meaning to their visits to the grieving country as their late husbands were a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation. Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il held the first-ever North-South summit in 2000, and the Hyundai Group pioneered business exchanges between the two Koreas.
Before returning to Seoul, the two delegations also toured the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, the last remaining symbol of bilateral cooperation. Ties between the two Koreas have soured since the two deadly attacks by the North killed 50 South Koreans last year including two civilians.
After meeting Jong-un on Monday, the two women wrote messages of condolence, according to the North’s state media.
“Although Kim Jong-il, chairman of the National Defense Commission, has passed away, I hope that we can achieve national reunification at an early date by upholding the spirit of the June 15 inter-Korean declaration (signed in 2000 during the first inter-Korean summit),” Lee said in her message.
Hyun’s message read: “The National Defense Commission chairman who has made efforts for inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation will be remembered in our hearts for good.”
The North Korean media reported in detail their visits as top stories. The article on the South Korean mourning delegations appeared on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun, the official daily publication of the ruling party, on Tuesday. Its television also showed footage of the two shaking hands with the sad-looking Jong-un.
The North announced last Monday that Kim, who ruled the state with an iron fist for some 17 years, died of a heart attack on a train ride on Dec. 17.
South Korea has decided not to send a government delegation to the North to prevent an ideological division of public opinion over the issue. It has expressed “consolation” to the North Korean people, but fallen short of offering condolences to Pyongyang.
By Song Sang-ho
(sshluck@heraldcorp.com)
<한글기사>
황태자 김정은, 이희호여사 손 잡고 깍듯
이희호 여사 측은 27일 이번 방북 조문에서 북한 김정은 당 중앙군사위 부위원장이 "멀리 찾아주셔서 감사하다"고 말했다고 밝혔다.
김정일 북한 국방위원장에 대한 조문 방북을 하고 이날 귀환한 이 여사 측의 윤 철구 김대중평화센터 사무총장은 도라산 남북출입사무소에서 취재진에게 "(조문을 위해) 약 40~50분간 기다렸다가 10분 정도 면담할 수 있었다"면서 이같이 전했다.
김 사무총장의 발언은 고령(89)인 이 여사를 대신해 이뤄졌으며, 기자회견 동안 이 여사는 윤 사무총장과 함께 자리했다.
윤 사무총장은 김영남 최고인민회의 상임위원장이 면담에서 "6ㆍ15 남북공동선 언과 10ㆍ4선언을 강조하면서 잘 진행됐으면 한다고 했다"고 말했다.
그는 이 자리에서 이 여사와 김 상임위원장은 이번 조의 방문과 고 김대중 전 대통령 서거 시 북측이 조문단을 서울에 보내준 데 대해 서로 감사를 표시했다고 했다.
또 그는 "이 여사는 면담에서 6ㆍ15공동선언과 10ㆍ4선언이 계속 잘 이행되길 바라며 저희 방문이 남북관계 발전에 도움이 되기 바란다고 말했다"고 덧붙였다.
현정은 "조문 인사만 했고 별도 면담 없어"
현정은 현대그룹 회장은 27일 "김정은 북한 당중앙군사위 부위원장과 별도 면담은 없었다"고 밝혔다.
1박2일간의 조문 방북을 마치고 귀환한 현 회장은 이날 경기도 파주 도라산 남 북출입사무소에서 "그냥 애도 표명만했지 별도의 얘기는 없었고, 따로 만난 것도 없 었다"면서 이같이 말했다.
현 회장은 김 부위원장의 인상과 성품에 대해 각각 "매스컴에서 보던 대로였다", "조문 인사만 했기 때문에 여러 이야기를 나눌 기회는 없었다"고 답했다.
그는 이날 오전 이뤄진 김영남 최고인민회의 상임위원장과의 면담에 대해 "일반 적 얘기만 했고 순수 조문 목적이었기 때문에 다른 이야기는 안했다"고 말했다.
또 대북사업 논의 여부에 대해서도 "조문 목적이었다. 이번에는 그런 것이 없었 다"고 잘라 말했다.
그는 "평양을 떠날 때 김양건 통일전선부장이 나와 배웅을 했으며 초대소에서 잠깐 뵈었다"고 전했다.
