South Korean civilian delegation enters North to pay respects to Kim

Seoul (CNN) -- A delegation of South Korean citizens arrived in Pyongyang on Monday to express condolences over the death of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the North's state-run news agency reported.
The 18-member civilian delegation was led by Lee Hui-ho -- the widow of the former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts at nurturing reconciliation between the two Koreas -- and Hyun Jeong-eun, the widow of Chung Mong-hun, the former chairman of Hyundai Group who pushed for heavy industrial investments in the North.
"I hope this helps improve North and South relations," Lee said in a statement read by one of her aides prior to her departure at the border.
The visit comes at a delicate point in relations between the two Koreas. The death of Kim Jong Il, announced by Pyongyang on December 19, has put the region on edge, as the world waits to see how the leadership succession will play out in the secretive regime.

Seoul has expressed its sympathy to the North Korean people and given the green light to Lee and Hyun's group to visit the North. But it has said it will not send an official delegation to pay respects to Kim Jong Il.
Pyongyang had sent delegations to South Korea when the former president Kim and the former Hyundai chairman Chung died in 2009 and 2003 respectively.
The South Korean delegation arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, according to the Korean Central News Agency, the North's official news agency, after passing through the Kaesong Industrial Park, just to the north of the demilitarized zone that separates the two countries.
The group's members were scheduled to pay respects to the North Korean leader lying in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace and return the following day after staying overnight in Pyongyang, according to the South Korean Unification Ministry.
Lee's party of 13 will stop to visit Kaesong, on the way back to Seoul, while Hyun's group of five will return directly to Seoul on Tuesday, according to the ministry.
Speculation is rife in the South Korean news media about whether the South Korean delegation will meet Kim Jong Il's youngest son and chosen successor, Kim Jong Un, during their visit.
Over the weekend, the younger KIm was designated the "supreme commander" in an editorial published in the country's main state newspaper, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported.