Former President Kim Dae-jung is planning on visiting North Korea some time in April.

Kim’s secretary Choi Gyung-hwan said Wednesday that Kim is hoping to visit the communist state in mid- or late April via train in an apparent effort to highlight the opening of inter-Korean railways.

Choi said discussions with the government are underway to arrange Kim’s Pyongyang visit, and that a government delegation will accompany him on his trip. Full-fledged discussions are expected after a new unification minister is confirmed by the National Assembly.

On Tuesday, Kim also expressed his wish to visit the North in an interview with the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, saying he hopes to visit Pyongyang when the weather gets warmer.

As the driving force behind the "sunshine" policy of engaging North Korea, Kim flew to Pyongyang in 2000 to hold a historic summit with the North's leader, Kim Jong-il.