Members of a pro-unification civic organization arrived in North Korea on Monday to discuss the return of remains of forced Korean laborers from the Japanese colonial era as well as other projects.

A three-member delegation led by Kim Hong-gul, head of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, spoke to reporters at Beijing Capital International Airport on their way to Pyongyang. 

Kim, the son of late President Kim Dae-jung, said that his group will hold in-depth discussions with the North during the four-day visit to facilitate cross-border civic exchanges and that he expects to return home with positive results.

Although the delegation’s itinerary is yet to be finalized, the group is set to talk with North Korean officials about a proposal for joint efforts on bringing home the remains of forced labor victims from various parts of Japan.  Koreans were mobilized into forced labor during Tokyo's colonial rule that ended in 1945. 

Kim added that the delegation, which includes a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party, will also try to talk with Pyongyang citizens or visit Kim Il-sung University to meet with students there. The delegation will return home on Thursday.

[Photo : KBS News]