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Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk presides over a memorial mass to mourn for the late former President Kim Dae-jung at the Myongdong Cathedral in Seoul August 22, 2009. [Agencies] |
The delegation, led by senior Workers' Party official Kim Ki Nam and spy chief Kim Yang Gon, went straight to the mourning site at the National Assembly Friday. DPRK has sent a high-level condolence delegation only once before - for the 2001 funeral of Chung Ju-yung, founder of South Korea's Hyundai Group, which funded the first inter-Korean joint projects.
On Sunday, they met with Lee for a half hour, relaying Kim Jong-il's thoughts on "progress on inter-Korean cooperation," presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said.
Lee detailed his government's "consistent and firm" policy on DPRK and reiterated the need for "sincere" dialogue between the two Koreas, the spokesman said.
"Thank you! Thank you! We're heading back in a positive mood," Kim Ki Nam told reporters as the delegation departed for their flight.
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South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo (L) comforts Lee Hee-ho, widow of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, at a memorial altar at the National Assembly in Seoul August 22, 2009. [Agencies] |
Sunday's memorial was South Korea's second state funeral, the nation's highest tribute, and the first held at the National Assembly. President Park Chung-hee was accorded a state funeral in 1979 after being assassinated while in office.
Prime Minister Han Seung-soo called Kim "a great political leader."
"We can't contain our grief," he said at the multifaith ceremony held under a blistering sun. Kim was a devout Catholic, but in a reflection of the different faiths observed in South Korea, the funeral included Christian and Buddhist rites.
The funeral comes just three months after the suicide of former President Roh Moo-hyun, a political ally who succeeded Kim Dae-jung in the Blue House and maintained his Sunshine Policy.
Roh, who jumped to his death amid a growing corruption investigation implicating his family, was given a people's funeral.
