The Democratic Party of Japan plans to dispatch a delegation of lawmakers to North Korea, possibly this summer, at the request of Pyongyang's de facto No. 2 man, party officials said Thursday.

DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama revealed the plan in a meeting with executives of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun), who visited Hatoyama at DPJ headquarters.

"It will depend on when the next general election will be held. But I hope (the delegation can go) before summer," DPJ officials quoted Hatoyama as telling the Chongryun executives, indicating the timing may follow the election.

Hatoyama's remark was in reply to a message from Kim Yong Sun, a man who is the Stalinist state's de facto No. 2 leader after Kim Jong Il and the person in charge of North Korea's diplomatic policy in Asia. He told a Chongryun executive that he hopes to meet with Hatoyama soon.

Kim's message was conveyed by Nam Sung U, vice chairman of the pro-Pyongyang organization, who met Kim Jong Il and Kim Yong Sun in Pyongyang earlier this month.

At the meeting, Hatoyama did not mention whether he will join the delegation, which would be the first by the DPJ to the famine-stricken country, the officials said.

During the meeting, Hatoyama urged the governments of Japan and North Korea to do more confidence-building between them through humanitarian food aid.

130 on peace mission

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. (Kyodo) A group of about 130 Japanese, led by former Okinawa Gov. Masahide Ota, will visit North Korea from May 3 to 7 in the hope of helping defuse regional tensions and that this in turn may lead to a reduction of the U.S. military presence in Okinawa, the group announced Thursday.

Masanori Yoshimoto, a member of the group and former vice governor of the island prefecture, told a news conference that the mission aims to promote grass-root exchanges in an effort to ease regional tensions.

"The mission is to promote exchanges among a wide range of ordinary people and we would like to make it into an annual event," Yoshimoto said. "It will be the first time Japan has sent a mission to North Korea with so many members."

Shokichi Kina, a popular musician from Okinawa, will join scholars, karate experts, businessmen and traditional Okinawa actors and dancers taking part in the mission.

During the trip, the group will hold a meeting to discuss ties between Okinawa and North Korea and attend a cultural festival to promote peace and friendship, Yoshimoto said, adding that Ota will also meet with key North Korean figures.

While Ota was in office, between 1990 and 1998, he called for Okinawa to strengthen its ties with China, South Korea and other Asian neighbors.

Ota, who campaigned for a reduction in the U.S. military presence in Okinawa, proposed that Okinawa turn itself into an international hub by finding civilian uses for facilities that are now U.S. bases.