Twenty members of the minor Democratic Labor Party (DLP) left for Pyongyang Monday.

After a brief stopover in Beijing, they will arrive in North Korea Tuesday for a five-day visit at the invitation of the North's Social Democratic Party.

At a pre-departure news conference, party chairwoman Kim Hye-kyong said the delegation will meet North Korean parliamentary leaders and discuss the nuclear issue and peace-building measures on the Korean Peninsula.

The progressive party legislators will also hold a forum on the June 15th joint declaration of the two Koreas and discuss ways to spur cross-border reconciliation, cooperation and parliamentary exchanges.

The trip will be the first official direct exchange between political parties of the two Koreas since 1948.

The DLP delegation includes chairwoman Kim, former party leader Kwon Youngghil, current floor leader Cheon Young-se, and Rep. Shim Sang-jeong.