The meeting in in Pyongyang on Monday evening was the younger Kim's initial interaction with guests from the South since the death of his father.
"He's simply as you see him within the media," said a member of the delegation, Hyun Jeong-Eun, responding to questions on Kim Jong Un at a news conference when returning to South Korea.
"Because I went merely to precise my condolences, there wasn't alternative|the other} chance to speak regarding numerous other problems," said Hyun, the chairwoman of Hyundai cluster, whose husband and predecessor, Chung Mong-hun, had pushed for industrial investments within the North.
Hyun was joined within the 18-member civilian delegation by Lee Hee-ho, the widow of the previous South Korean president Kim Dae-jung, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts at nurturing reconciliation between the 2 Koreas.
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Their visit came at a fragile purpose in relations between the 2 Koreas. The death of Kim Jong Il, announced by Pyongyang on December nineteen, has place the region jumpy, because the world waits to ascertain how the leadership succession can play out within the secretive regime.
An aide for Lee said Tuesday that the guests had a quick encounter of regarding ten minutes with Kim Jong Un, who said, "Thank you for returning from to this point."
The delegation on Tuesday met another senior figure within the North Korean regime: Kim Yong-nam, the president of the North's parliament who holds a largely ceremonial role.
In that meeting, Lee expressed hope that the group's visit would facilitate move the 2 sides back toward the pursuit of peace on the Korean peninsula, per her aide.
That prospect hinges on the intentions of Kim Jong Un, who remains largely an unknown amount outside his country's borders, in addition as his ability to secure a powerful power base within the North.
He has to this point received a string of praise and endorsements within the North Korean news media since his father's death, suggesting he's succeeding in rallying support at intervals the regime's hierarchy.
Over the weekend, the younger Kim was noted because the "supreme commander" in a piece of writing revealed within the country's main state newspaper, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported.
To try to navigate the unpredictable state of affairs to the north, Seoul has expressed its sympathy to the North Korean individuals and given the inexperienced light-weight to Lee and Hyun's cluster to go to the North. however it's said it'll not send a political candidate delegation to pay respects to Kim Jong Il.
Pyongyang sent delegations to South Korea when the previous president Kim and also the former Hyundai chairman Chung died in 2009 and 2003, respectively.
The funeral of Kim Jong Il is predicted to require place Wednesday followed by a memorial service Thursday.
