Seoul names delegation for Pyeongyang mission

The South Korean Unification Ministry said Wednesday that seven or eight working-level officials will accompany Lim Dong-won, the presidential envoy, when he visits North Korea April 3.

"Kim Bo-hyun, deputy director for North Korean affairs at National Intelligence Service; Cho Myoung-gyun, director-general of Inter-Korean Exchanges and Cooperation Bureau, and Kim Chun-sig, director of the policy coordination division of the ministry will aid Mr. Lim," said Kim Hong-jae, the ministry spokesman. They will be accompanied by three or four assistant personnel.

The ministry will send the list to Pyeongyang and ask the North Korean government to guarantee their safety.

Kim Bo-hyun was the point man for the covert negotiations with North Korea leading to the dispatch of the presidential envoy. He was on President Kim Dae-jung's delegation at the June 2000 summit in Pyeongyang, listed as a special aide to the prime minister.

Mr. Cho is a chief North Korean negotiator in the ministry. He participated at the South-North economic cooperation committee meeting in December 2000, and led the government-level dialogue in October 2001 to discuss reviving the Mount Geumgang tour.

by Lee Young-jong