Today, Special Envoy to The North Lim Dong-won Meets Kim Jung-il

Lim Dong-won, special advisor to President Kim Dae-jung for national security and unification arrived at North Korea in the official capacity as the special envoy and started his official mission Jan. 27.

Special envoy Lim is expected to meet Chairman of the North Korean Defense Committee Kim Jung-il as early as Jan. 28, deliver President Kim`s personal letter and hold in-depth discussions on the nuclear issue. In addition, he is also expected to meet other North Korean officials, including ceremonial head of state Kim Young-nam, First Vice Chairman Jo Myoung-rok of the National Defense Commission, and First Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju.

South Korean delegates to the North, including Lim Dong-won who is accompanied by presidential security adviser Yim Sung-joon and Lee Jong-seok, a member of President-elect Roh Moo-hyun`s transition team, flew a direct inter-Korean air route over the West Sea in the morning and arrived at the North`s Sunan Airport. They attended at a welcoming dinner offered by Kim Yong-sun, secretary of the Workers` Party.

At the Sunan Airport, the South Korean delegation was greeted by Lim Dong-ok, director of the North`s unification ministry, Choi Seung-chul, executive director of the Central Commission of the North Korean Red Cross, Won Dong-yeoun, director of the North Korean unification committee, and Kwon Ho-woong, a member of the North Korea`s Asia Pacific Peace Committee.

Before heading for the North, special envoy to the North Lim Dong-won made a speech at a bureau dealing with the Inter-Korean talks in downtown, Seoul. “The purpose of the visit to the North is to find a breakthrough to solve the nuclear standoff between the U.S. and North Korea and to express South Koreans and the international community`s concerns over the issue. Our priority is to settle the issue through a peaceful means, avoiding disastrous military conflicts on the Korean Peninsular,” he said. Before the announcement of the visit to the North made, the Seoul government held close consultations with its allies on the issue and he will hold in-depth discussions with North Korean officials based on the consultations, he also added.

Dong-Ki Sung esprit@donga.com