A 20-member delegation of the minor Democratic Labor Party is returning home Saturday after a five-day visit to North Korea.

The delegates have left Pyonyang and will arrive in Seoul in the afternoon after a stopover in Beijing. They will issue a statement at the airport.

Arranged by the North's Social Democratic Party, the visit is significant as it was the first official direct exchange between political parties of the two Koreas since the country's division.

The progressive party legislators met the North's parliamentary leader Kim Young-nam and SDP chairman Kim Young-dae and agreed to facilitate political and parliamentary exchanges and inter-Korean cooperation.

However, a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il did not materialize.

The delegates also held a forum on the implementation of the June 15th joint declaration with North Korean parliamentary leaders. They also paid visits to Mangyungdae, the birthplace of the late Kim Il-sung, the Mansoodae parliament building and a patriots' cemetery, the equivalent of the South’s National Cemetery.

Led by party chairwoman Kim Hye-kyung, the DLP delegation also included former party leader Kwon Young-ghil, current floor leader Cheon Young-se, and Rep. Shim Sang-jeong.