Pyongyang allows in two South Korean delegations to study adversaries
by Joseph Yun Li-sun
The ‘great successor’ meets former President Kim Dae-jung’s widow as well as Hyundai chairwoman. Source tells AsiaNews he wants “to study his adversaries”. As people wait for the late dictator’s funeral, North Korea’s official media officially crowns the heir.
Seoul (AsiaNews) – As the date of the funeral of North Korea’s dictator approaches, his ‘great successor’, Kim Jong-un, “appears to be trying to study his adversaries before making any foreign policy decision. This is why he received two delegations from South Korea. He wants to understand his counterparts and whether he can get humanitarian aid before using force,” a South Korean government source told AsiaNews, as he commented the visit by prominent South Korean figures to Pyongyang.
The two South Korean delegations included Hyundai chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun and Lee Hee-Ho, South Korea’s former First Lady and widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, who said in a statement that she hoped her visit would help improve relations on the peninsula.
Her husband, Kim Dae-jung, who was president between 1998 and 2003, died in 2009. He and Kim Jong-il met in a landmark summit in 2000.
Hyundai, which controls Hyundai Motor, played a role in the economic rapprochement between the two Koreas. Its president, Hyung, met the ‘dear leader’ several times.
Ms Lee’s visit “is highly symbolic for South Koreans as well,” the source told AsiaNews. Her husband launched the ‘sunshine policy’, opening up to North Korea. For this, he won a Nobel Prize Award. His ideas are still important in South korea because they set dialogue as a priority, even if the current conservative government disagrees.”
North Korea’s official media have begun to refer to Kim Jong-un as head of the Korea Workers’ party, the country’s single Communist party. “All the organisations of the party across the country are celebrating as one the ideology and direction of the great comrade Kin Jong-un,” reported the Rodong Sinmun, the party’s official newspaper “''Let's stake our lives to safeguard the party's Central Committee led by dear comrade Kim Jong-un,'' it added.
The head of the Central Committee of the Workers’ party is the highest post in North Korea. So far, the heir designate had not officially occupied it, but its use in official media indicates that the transfer of power is underway, said Prof Kim Yong-hyun of Dongguk University.
Around the region, observers are looking at the transition with great trepidation, preparing for all eventualities. In Beijing, Sino-South Korean talks began with Kim Jong-il’s death and North Korea’s future on the table. China appears willing to ditch the heir if he resorts to violence.
The two South Korean delegations included Hyundai chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun and Lee Hee-Ho, South Korea’s former First Lady and widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, who said in a statement that she hoped her visit would help improve relations on the peninsula.
Her husband, Kim Dae-jung, who was president between 1998 and 2003, died in 2009. He and Kim Jong-il met in a landmark summit in 2000.
Hyundai, which controls Hyundai Motor, played a role in the economic rapprochement between the two Koreas. Its president, Hyung, met the ‘dear leader’ several times.
Ms Lee’s visit “is highly symbolic for South Koreans as well,” the source told AsiaNews. Her husband launched the ‘sunshine policy’, opening up to North Korea. For this, he won a Nobel Prize Award. His ideas are still important in South korea because they set dialogue as a priority, even if the current conservative government disagrees.”
North Korea’s official media have begun to refer to Kim Jong-un as head of the Korea Workers’ party, the country’s single Communist party. “All the organisations of the party across the country are celebrating as one the ideology and direction of the great comrade Kin Jong-un,” reported the Rodong Sinmun, the party’s official newspaper “''Let's stake our lives to safeguard the party's Central Committee led by dear comrade Kim Jong-un,'' it added.
The head of the Central Committee of the Workers’ party is the highest post in North Korea. So far, the heir designate had not officially occupied it, but its use in official media indicates that the transfer of power is underway, said Prof Kim Yong-hyun of Dongguk University.
Around the region, observers are looking at the transition with great trepidation, preparing for all eventualities. In Beijing, Sino-South Korean talks began with Kim Jong-il’s death and North Korea’s future on the table. China appears willing to ditch the heir if he resorts to violence.
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