S. Korean media heads arrive in Pyongyang

Culture-Tourism Minister Park Jie-Won, visiting North Korea with the heads of South Korean media organizations Sunday, delivered President Kim Dae-Jung`s invitation for North Korean media representatives to visit Seoul at a convenient time.

The Northern side accepted the President`s invitation, according to reports from the South Korean media representatives.

Heads of the South Korean media organizations agreed with high-level North Korean media officials to advance press exchanges. The South Korean delegation said it held a two-hour meeting with 20 North Korean media officials at the Mansudae National Assembly Hall and decided to make a joint declaration on media exchanges during its visit.

The delegates also decided to form a subcommittee to work on the joint declaration during their stay. The North Korean officials include Chong Ha-Chol, chief of propaganda and advertising for the Central Committee of the Korea Workers Party, Kang Nung-Su, minister of culture, and Choe Chil-Nam, chief editorial writer of the Rodong Sinmun. The delegation, including 46 presidents of newspapers and broadcasting companies, arrived in Pyongyang Saturday and will stay for eight days.