Detained worker to be discussed at meeting in North

Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of Hyundai Group, is scheduled to visit North Korea today to negotiate the release of a Hyundai Asan employee who has been detained there since March 30, sources said yesterday.

A government official said Hyun will lead a delegation of key company executives north of the border to discuss the release of a Kaesong Industrial Complex worker accused of criticizing the North Korean political regime and encouraging a North Korean co-worker to defect. Another official from the Blue House speculated that the worker is likely to be released before Korea’s Aug. 15 Liberation Day. A spokesman at the Hyundai Group said he had not been informed of the trip as of yesterday and the possibility of such a trip has not been discussed.

The chairwoman’s trip comes less than a week after former U.S. President Bill Clinton traveled to Pyongyang to gain release of two detained American journalists. Clinton had a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and returned to the United States with journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were captured in March after crossing the China-North Korean border while reporting on North Korean refugees.

The government official here said the Hyundai executives will stay at least for two days and will also discuss with North Korean officials the stalled tourism program at the Mount Kumgang resort. Hyundai Asan operates the tour package. The official also said that the release of the Hyundai employee will have a “positive impact” on the detainment of the South Korean ship “800 Yeonan” and its 4 crew members. The fishing boat crossed the maritime border on July 30. North Korea said it is currently investigating the incident.

And in an attempt not to provoke North Korea ahead of the negotiations, the South Korean military said the Ulchi Freedom Guardian, a joint South Korea-U.S. drill, will be “a low key” event this year. The exercises, which began in 1976 and focus on defending against possible North Korean attacks, are scheduled for Aug. 17 to 27. In previous years, North Korea criticized the exercises for being “anti-national and anti-reunification acts” and charged they were “fraught with greater danger of invasion” into the North. During March’s Key Resolve and Foal Eagle joint drills, North Korea severed inter-Korean communication lines.

By Seo Seung-wook, Yoo Jee-ho [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]