Pyongyang, December 19 (KCNA) -- Upon hearing the sad news that leader Kim Jong Il passed away, Ri Hui Ho, widow of Kim Dae Jung, former president of south Korea, Monday expressed condolences over his demise.

She expressed deep condolences at the sad news of his demise, adding:

Kim Jong Il, chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, released the June 15 joint declaration in June 2000, providing a landmark for the south-north reconciliation and cooperation and reunification.

Recalling that he sent a special envoy to Seoul to express condolences at a time when Kim Dae Jung passed away in August 2009, she stressed that it is a moral obligation for her to express condolences.