ID :
20614
Mon, 09/22/2008 - 15:39
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/20614
The shortlink copeid
Two more S. Korean groups visiting N. Korea
SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- Two left-leaning South Korean organizations are visiting Pyongyang with approval from their government, the groups said Monday, marking the first visit by a non-relief group since a South Korean woman was shot dead by a North Korean soldier in early July.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the more militant of the country's two umbrella labor groups, said a 13-member delegation left for a five-day visit to Pyongyang on Saturday.
On Monday, a 96-member delegation of the Catholic Priests' Association for
Justice flew into Pyongyang to hold a special mass.
Seoul had halted tours to the South Korean-operated Mount Geumgang resort, just
north of the DMZ, in response to the killing of Park Wang-ja, 53, and has been
discouraging non-charity groups from traveling to North Korea for inter-Korean
exchange programs.
Pyongyang has ignored Seoul's request for help in investigating the tourist's
death.
The two groups' previous requests for government approval were turned down amid
chilly ties between the two Koreas.
The KCTU delegates, all public transportation workers, will hold talks with their
counterparts from the North's General Federation of Trade Unions on ways to
enhance cooperation between the two Koreas' workers, Woo Mun-sook, spokeswoman
for the KCTU, told Yonhap News Agency by phone.
They will also go sightseeing at Mount Myohyang in North Pyongan Province, Woo said.
During their five-day stay until Friday, the delegation of Catholic priests will
also visit Mount Myohyang and Mount Paektu near the North's border with China,
the association said.
The visits came after Seoul allowed the Korean Sharing Movement, a Seoul-based
charity group, to send a 136-member delegation Saturday for a four-day visit to
Pyongyang and Mount Paektu.
Inter-Korean relations soured after President Lee Myung-bak, a conservative who
is staunchly pro-U.S., took office in late February and vowed to take a firmer
stance with Pyongyang than his two predecessors.
Relations became further strained when Park was fatally shot after she allegedly
walked into an off-limits zone near the resort.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the more militant of the country's two umbrella labor groups, said a 13-member delegation left for a five-day visit to Pyongyang on Saturday.
On Monday, a 96-member delegation of the Catholic Priests' Association for
Justice flew into Pyongyang to hold a special mass.
Seoul had halted tours to the South Korean-operated Mount Geumgang resort, just
north of the DMZ, in response to the killing of Park Wang-ja, 53, and has been
discouraging non-charity groups from traveling to North Korea for inter-Korean
exchange programs.
Pyongyang has ignored Seoul's request for help in investigating the tourist's
death.
The two groups' previous requests for government approval were turned down amid
chilly ties between the two Koreas.
The KCTU delegates, all public transportation workers, will hold talks with their
counterparts from the North's General Federation of Trade Unions on ways to
enhance cooperation between the two Koreas' workers, Woo Mun-sook, spokeswoman
for the KCTU, told Yonhap News Agency by phone.
They will also go sightseeing at Mount Myohyang in North Pyongan Province, Woo said.
During their five-day stay until Friday, the delegation of Catholic priests will
also visit Mount Myohyang and Mount Paektu near the North's border with China,
the association said.
The visits came after Seoul allowed the Korean Sharing Movement, a Seoul-based
charity group, to send a 136-member delegation Saturday for a four-day visit to
Pyongyang and Mount Paektu.
Inter-Korean relations soured after President Lee Myung-bak, a conservative who
is staunchly pro-U.S., took office in late February and vowed to take a firmer
stance with Pyongyang than his two predecessors.
Relations became further strained when Park was fatally shot after she allegedly
walked into an off-limits zone near the resort.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)
