DPRK to send delegation to president Kim's funeral

SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will send a delegation to South Korea's former president Kim Dae-jung's funeral, Kim's former aide said Wednesday.

According to South Korea's lawmaker Park Jie-won, the DPRK sent a message saying that Kim Jong-il, DPRK's leader, has decided to send a five-member delegation team to the funeral.

The delegation is planning a two-day trip to Seoul and will offer floral tributes from Kim Jong-il, Park said.

The letter, addressed to the Kim Dae Jung Peace Center, a non-governmental organization the former president established, from the DPRK's Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, said Kim Jong-il expressed condolence in his name (to the bereaved family), and arranged the dispatch of a delegation of special envoys, according to Park.

The DPRK's message conveyed more details, such as its plan to travel by the inter-Korean maritime route in the West Sea, asking for the South Korean government to make arrangements for it.

The delegation members will include a secretary of the North's Workers' Party central committee and a department director, Park added.

Unification Ministry spokesperson Lee Jong-joo, meanwhile, said the South Korean government has "received no such information yet from North Korea."

The South Korean government is yet to confirm on the date or the format of Kim's funeral.