The FINANCIAL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Il met with Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jung Eun in Pyongyang on August 16 after Hyun extended her stay in the North Korean capital five times in hope of meeting Kim, according to the North's state media.
Kim and Hyun talked ''in an atmosphere of compatriotic feelings, remembering the predecessors of the Hyundai Group with deep emotion,'' while Kim expressed gratitude for a gift the chairwoman presented him, the official Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim gave a luncheon for Hyun and her party, it added.
Hyun, who has been in North Korea since Monday, went to the country originally to seek the release, later granted, of a Hyundai employee who had been detained since March.
The employee, Yu Seong Jin, returned to South Korea on Thursday, but Hyun remained to press for continuation of cross-border tourism projects that have been beset by difficulties.
Hyun met Kim in 2005 and 2007 during trips to Pyongyang, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.
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