The statement referred to the fact that the vice-chairman came to Pyongyang on March 24 to take part in the memorial service for leader Kim Jong Il on the 100th day since his demise.

The purpose of his visit was to express condolences to the compatriots in the north who were overwhelmed by great shock and sorrow over the loss of the leader of the nation, the statement said, lauding his visit as a just deed for national reconciliation and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

It went on:

The indignation of the army and people in the north at the Lee Myung Bak "government" reached the height as it staged Key Resolve and Foal Eagle joint military exercises in collusion with foreign forces and perpetrated hideous provocations of hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership of the north during the mourning period.

If the Lee regime puts into custody and incriminate Ro Su Hui upon his return to south Korea after his visit to the north, it would lash the nation into greater fury and bring the south-north relations to the lowest ebb.

Ro's condolatory visit deserves high appreciation by the fellow countrymen, it stressed.