PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — A private delegation of South Koreans paid their respects to Kim Jong Il's son and heir Monday during a visit to Pyongyang.
Kim Jong Un has made several high-profile appearances on state TV since his father’s death was announced a week ago. His surprise meeting with the South Koreans could be intended to push South Korea to pursue cooperative projects that would give North Korea much-needed aid, analysts said.
The South Koreans paid respects at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace where Kim Jong Il’s body is lying in state and met with Kim Jong Un there, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said in a statement.
The delegation was led by the widow of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who engineered a "sunshine" engagement policy with the North and held a landmark summit with Kim Jong Il in 2000, and Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, whose late husband had ties to the North.
Footage from AP Television News in North Korea showed the group being greeted by North Korean officials during a stop at a factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong. North Korea sent delegations to Seoul when the women’s husbands died.
North Korea also identified Kim Jong Il’s son as head of a top ruling party body Monday, a post that gives him authority over political matters in addition to the military control attributed to him in recent days.
Kim Jong Un has rapidly gained prominence since the death of his father on Dec. 17, with the state media showering new titles on him almost daily.
