Former First Lady Lee Hee-ho and Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun have paid their respect to late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

The Unification Ministry announced late Monday that the delegation also expressed their condolences to the late Kim’s third son and heir apparent, Jong-un, during their visit to Pyongyang.

The secretary-general of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center, Yun Cheol-gu, said Monday afternoon that he received a telephone call from the former first lady that she and Hyun will be staying at the same state guest house in Pyongyang where former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun stayed during their visits to the North in 2000 and 2007.

The condolence delegation arrived in the capital through the border city of Gaeseong. Before crossing the border at the Dorasan Customs, Immigration & Quarantine (CIQ) office in the morning, the former first lady expressed hope that her trip will help improve inter-Korean relations.

The 90-year-old widow also said it is right for her to make a condolatory visit for the late North Korean leader as he sent envoys to Seoul when her husband Kim Dae-jung died in August 2009.

The delegation passed the Military Demarcation Line through the Gyeongui Highway around 8:30 a.m. and arrived in capital Pyongyang via Gaeseong at around 11 o’clock.

The delegates had lunch with North Korean officials. However, it is not known who the officials were or where they met for lunch.

The 18-member delegation consists of 13 people from the former first lady’s camp and five from the Hyundai chairwoman's side. South Korean government officials and politicians are not part of the delegation.

The group will leave Pyongyang Tuesday morning and return to Seoul in the afternoon.