Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun of Hyundai Group in Republic of Korea arrives at the CIQ (customs, immigration and quarantine) office, just south of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul, August 10, 2009, before she crosses the border to visit Pyongyang. [Agencies]

Chun refused to say whether the Hyundai chief would carry a government message to the DPRK. Hyundai Asan said Hyun did not have any message from the ROK government.

ROK and Japanese officials said Clinton, during his talks with Kim Jong-il, urged the North to free the ROK cirtizens and to address decades-old abductions of Japanese citizens.

A New Launch Dispute

The DPRK's foreign ministry, meanwhile, said Monday that it would be keeping a close eye on the international response to the ROK's plans to launch a satellite into space.

The ROK is aiming to send its first space launch vehicle, or rocket, from its own soil as early as next week.

The DPRK's own launch in April drew international criticism and UN Security Council condemnation as a violation of resolutions prohibiting the regime from engaging in ballistic missile-related activity. Experts say the rocket sent into the skies could be used to fire a long-range missile.

Pyongyang's foreign ministry did not say in the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency what action the DPRK would take if Seoul's launch is not referred to the Security Council.

The two Koreas technically remain at war since their 1950-53 Korean conflict ended in a ceasefire, not a peace treaty. After a period of warming ties, relations have deteriorated since the conservative President Lee Myung-bak took office in the ROK last year advocating a tougher policy on the DPRK leadership.

AP- Reuters