South Korea sending special envoy to North

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- South Korea will send a special envoy to North Korea next month in hopes of restarting stalled bilateral relations, a South Korean government spokeswoman said Monday.

Lim Dong-Won, South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung's special adviser on security and unification affairs, will travel to North Korea in the first week of April, presidential spokeswoman Park Sun-Sook said.

In addition to improving north-south relations, Park said, Seoul hopes to limit tensions on the Korean Peninsula and fulfill the agreements reached in June 2000, when leaders from the two countries met in an historic summit which brought about a new mood of reconciliation between the two sides.

The two countries agreed to a series of exchanges, including family reunions -- three of which have taken place since then.

Park did not specify what the talks will concern, but issues on the table include resuming the family exchanges and restarting high-level talks, which have been stalled for four months.