North Korea appears to be on a dialogue offensive. In early August it let former U.S. President Bill Clinton visit the country and released two captured American journalists. When South Korea's Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong Eun visited Pyongyang, the North released a detained Hyundai worker and agreed to ease operation of the joint industrial park in Kaesong.
More recently, the North sent a delegation to Seoul for the funeral of former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, who had held the first inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and won the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting North and South reconciliation. Mr. Kim Yong Gon, an official of the Korean Workers Party responsible for inter-Korean relations, met with South Korean Minister for Unification Hyun In Taek.
Mr. Kim Ki Nam, secretary of the party's central committee, met with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak — the first meeting that Mr. Lee has had with a North Korean official since he assumed office in February 2008. The North Korean party official delivered a personal message from North Korean leader Kim. Although the content of the message has not been made public, it is believed to concern inter-Korean cooperation. Mr. Lee explained to the KWP official the "firm principles" of Seoul's policy toward Pyongyang. He also said there are no problems that cannot be solved if the North and South talk with each other sincerely.