Seoul, Jan 27: South Korean envoy Lim Dong-Wan departed from a military airport today for North Korea for talks on the nuclear crisis, officials said.

Speaking to reporters before boarding the plane at Songnam military airport south of the capital, Lim said he carried with him a message from President Kim Dae-Jung to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. "My mission is to deliver the message of President Kim Dae-Jung to the North Korean leader and listen to his views," he said.
Lim, Kim's special advisor on North Korea, leads an eight-member delegation of South Korean officials on a three-day mission to the North.

"I am going to Pyongyang as a special envoy of President Kim Dae-Jung," Lim said in a statement before the delegation winged its way to Pyongyang on a direct flight over the Yellow Sea.

"There are growing security concerns on the Korean Peninsula because of the North Korean nuclear problem," said Lim.

"I will convey the concerns of our people and the international community over the nuclear issue and will seek a solution to it."

Lim added he would also seek to "keep reconciliation and cooperation between South and North Korea on track." Bureau Report