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Leading South Koreans allowed to mourn Kim in Pyongyang South Korea ex-First Lady Lee Hee-ho mourns Kim Jong-il
(about 4 hours later)
Two prominent South Koreans have crossed the border into the North to pay their respects to the late leader of the secretive state, Kim Jong-il. South Korea's former First Lady has travelled to Pyongyang to offer condolences over Kim Jong-il's death.
Former South Korean First Lady Lee Hee-ho and Hyundai firm head Hyun Jung-Eun will spend two days in Pyongyang. Lee Hee-ho, whose husband Kim Dae-jung tried to improve relations with the North, is the highest-profile of two delegations allowed by the South.
Seoul has banned most South Koreans from visiting the North to express condolences, angering its neighbour. Officials said Mrs Lee, 89, was not representing the government. She will not stay for the funeral on Wednesday.
Separately, the North's main newspaper has called new leader Kim Jong-un the head of the ruling party's key body. Meanwhile, state media in the North continues to promote Kim Jong-il's son, Kim Jong-un, as his father's successor.
The Rodong Sinmun paper described Kim Jong-il's son as the head of the Workers' Party Central Committee, meaning that he was now in control of one of the country's highest decision-making bodies as he was preparing for the transfer of power. The Rodong Sinmun newspaper has described Kim Jong-un as the head of the Workers' Party Central Committee, meaning that he now controls one of the country's highest decision-making bodies.
The newspaper earlier gave him the title of "supreme commander" of the armed forces.
Clinging to power
Seoul has allowed only two private delegations to travel north to pay their respects, and will not be sending any officials to the funeral.
The South's refusal to allow its citizens to travel has angered Pyongyang, which has warned of "grave implications" for relations.
Mrs Lee, who met Kim Jong-il during a landmark summit in 2000, said in a statement that she hoped her visit would help to improve relations on the peninsula.
When Kim il-Sung died in 1994, South Korea didn't send any kind of condolence message and didn't allow people to travel north. That created a lot of bad blood between the two countries.
At the moment South Korea says it is keen to not appear hostile. The president has said he wants to try to reach out, and the government has sent a message of sympathy to the North Korean people.
As far as the North Korean media sees it, this gesture is not enough. They say it is the first real test of relations between the two countries during the mourning period, and the South has failed.
"As chairman Kim Jong-il sent a condolence delegation to Seoul when my husband passed away in 2009, I believe it is our duty to express our condolences," she said.
Kim Dae-jung pioneered what became known as the Sunshine Policy, trying to engage the North through diplomacy.
However, the current government ditched the policy in 2008 and has since taken a tougher line towards the nuclear-armed North.
Mrs Lee travelled overland to Pyongyang, where she is expected to stay for two days.
The chairwoman of the Hyundai firm, Hyun Jung-eun, is also visiting Pyongyang to offer condolences.
Her company was at the forefront of efforts to build business ties with the North, and Kim Jong-il also sent condolences when her husband died.
North Korea is trying to carry on the world's only Communist family dynasty.North Korea is trying to carry on the world's only Communist family dynasty.
Kim Jong-il, who inherited power from his father in 1994, died on 17 December - reportedly after suffering a heart attack. Kim Jong-il, who died on 17 December, inherited power from his father Kim il-Sung in 1994 after more than two decades being primed for the role.
His son is seen by many analysts as a political novice, thought to be in his late 20s. Kim Jong-un, in his late 20s, has very little political experience.
'Grave implications' Analysts say he will be surrounded by a group of experienced military insiders and relatives, as the Pyongyang elite attempts to hold on to power.
Mrs Lee, 89, and Mrs Hyu, 56, crossed the border into the North on Monday.
"I hope that our visit to the North will help improve South-North relations," the former first lady was quoted as saying by the South's Yonhap news agency.
The two women have been given special permission to pay their respects in person, because both families have received personal condolences from the North in the past, the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Seoul reports.
Both have also strong ties to the North, our correspondent adds.
Former President Kim Dae-jung held the first inter-Korea summit with Kim Jong-il in 2000, while Hyundai has been a key economic investor into Pyongyang.
But Seoul has stressed that they are visiting in a purely personal capacity.
The two women are expected to return home on Tuesday - a day before the state funeral of Kim Jong-il.
The North has condemned Seoul's ban on cross-border condolence visits by South Koreans, warning that this would have "grave implications" for bilateral relations.