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| 2023-06-30 11:16:22
Hyundai chief-N Korea
Hyundai Group chief seeks to visit N. Korea's Mt. Kumgang
SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- The chief of South Korea's Hyundai Group has sought to visit North Korea's Mount Kumgang in August to hold a memorial service for her late husband and former chairman of the group, an official at Seoul's unification ministry said Friday.
Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of Hyundai Group, which had run sightseeing programs to the North Korean mountain, held a memorial service for late former chairman, Chung Mong-hun at Mount Kumgang in 2018 when the group marked the 15th anniversary of Chung's death.
Officials at Hyundai Group submitted a document to visit North Korea to the Ministry of Unification on Tuesday, the official said, adding that the ministry has reviewed the document and will "process it in accordance with procedures."
It remains unclear whether North Korea, which has strictly closed its borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, would allow Hyun to visit Mount Kumgang.
Hyundai Group is set to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of Chung on Aug. 4.
The filed document marks the first step in a two-stage process for South Koreans seeking to visit North Korea.
By law, all citizens are required to report to the government their plans for meeting people in North Korea and the report is accepted within seven days if all requirements are met.
Once the report is accepted, individuals can request an invitation to visit the North by their North Korean counterpart. The invitation is then submitted to the unification ministry for government permission.
The sightseeing programs to the North's mountain came to a halt in 2008 when a South Korean tourist was fatally shot by a North Korean soldier at the mountain resort.
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