Korean Economic reported that Hee-Ho Lee, the former First Lady of President Dae-Joong Kim has agreed with the North Korean government that she will visit Pyeongyang in the near future. The specific date has not been determined, but Lady Lee will be entering North Korea by foot, through the DMZ.
Seong-Jae Kim, South Korea’s former Minister of Culture explained that the North Korean government is very positive about the idea of Lady Lee visiting Pyeongyang. In 2000, former president Kim had entered Pyeongyang for the first North-South Korean summit meeting with Kim Jung-Il. Minister Kim explained that there will be further negotiations with North Korea to determine the exact date of this visit.
In the year 1998, while she was still First Lady, Lee had established “Loving Friends”, a non-profit organization that was designed to provide humanitarian aid for North Korean teenagers and students. When the date of her trip to Pyeongyang gets finalized, Lee will be working with this organization to deliver fur hats to North Korean children that she had knitted herself.
While many are excited for the possibility of another contact with North Korea, other experts have expressed that now is probably not the best time for the visit. For instance, in the following month, North Korea will be preparing for a number of important holidays and ceremonies including the 3rd anniversary for the rule of Kim Jong-Un, and day that Kim Jung-Il had died.
In addition, North and South Korean diplomatic relationships are not the best. The South Korean military and the U.S. has just ended a series of joint military exercises in preparation for a North Korean invasion of the south. Earlier this week at the United Nations headquarters, North Korean ambassadors had rejected the UN’s resolution on human rights claiming that it was made up of false testimonies given by defectors who were wanting to bring down the regime.
