Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung on Wednesday gave a positive assessment of a recent series of visits to North Korea by South Korean politicians.

He said that it is very important for South Korean politicians to convey global trends to the North Korean people through various conduits.

His remarks came after former Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young visited an inter-Korean industrial complex in Gaesong, which follows a visit to Pyongyang earlier in March by former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan.

The unification minister said that his staff should consider assisting South Korean politicians’ visits to the North.

But he declined to comment on a possible visit to Pyongyang by former President Kim Dae-jung, saying it was not appropriate for the government to discuss his plans.