Former S. Korean first lady arrives in DPRK to mourn late top leader

Former South Korean first lady Lee Hee-ho arrived here Monday to express condolences over the death of Kim Jong Il, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the official KCNA news agency reported. Lee, widow of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, led a 13-member delegation. Meanwhile, a five-member delegation led by Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, wife of the business group's late chairman, Chung Mong-hun, also arrived in the capital. The KCNA did not disclose the schedule for the delegations, who will return home on Tuesday. South Korea's Unification Ministry said the mourners were scheduled to hold a luncheon meeting with some DPRK officials later Monday before paying their respects to Kim. The South Korean government granted special permission for the two women to make the trip because the DPRK sent separate condolence delegations to Seoul after the deaths of their husbands. However, it decided not to send any official group of mourners.