Hyundai chief in N Korea talks

Ms Hyun has met North Korea's reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il

The head of one of South Korea's largest conglomerates has held a second day of talks in North Korea to secure the release of a detained worker.

Hyun Jeong-eun, the head of Hyundai Group, is also discussing restarting its joint projects in North Korea, company officials said.

The detained worker, known only by his family name Yoo, was arrested in March at a joint factory zone in the North.

South Korean TV has reported he may be released within days.

The report, carried on YTN television, said Mr Yoo could be released on Wednesday, citing an anonymous source.

Hyundai officials said they had no information about his possible release.

Relations strained

Mr Yoo was detained in March at the joint North-South factory zone in the Northern border town of Kaesong, accused of undermining the North's political system.

About 100 South Korean firms use cheap Northern labour at factories in the zone.

The reports of his possible release come a week after Pyongyang released two US journalists following an unexpected visit by former US President Bill Clinton, who held talks with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il.

The Hyundai boss, Hyun Jeong-eun, is one of the few South Koreans to have met with Northern leader Kim Jong-il.

But her meeting with Mr Kim took place in happier times, according to the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul.

With North-South Korean relations strained to breaking point in recent months, much of Hyundai's work inside the North has been suspended and Mr Yoo was arrested.