Kim Jong Un, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, accepted condolences for his father's death from a South Korean mourners' group at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace on Monday , the official news agency KCNA reported.

Lee Hee-Ho (2nd L, front), the widow of the late former South Korea's president Kim Dae-jung, and Hyun Jeong-Eun (2nd R, front), the wife of Hyundai Group's late chairman Chung Mong-hun, leave the customs, immigration and quarantine office (CIQ) in Paju, South Korea, before heading to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s capital Pyongyang, Dec. 26, 2011. [Park Jin Hee/Xinhua]

Lee Hee-ho, widow of former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, and Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of the Hyundai Group, laid wreaths and paid silent tribute at the bier of Kim Jong Il, the KCNA reported.

Lee wrote in the condolence book that Chairman of the National Defense Commission Kim Jong Il fell in eternal sleep but expressed her hope that national unification would be realized under the spirit of the June 15 Joint Declaration at an early date.

Hyun wrote that Chairman of the National Defense Commission, who made efforts for national reconciliation and cooperation, will be remembered forever.

The mourners' group, led by Lee and Hyun, arrived in Pyongyang via Kaesong on Monday.

Kim Jong Il's funeral is set to take place on Wednesday, and a memorial is scheduled for Thursday.

The mourners's group will not attend the funeral.  

Last week, the South Korean government expressed its sympathy to the people of the DPRK following the death of Kim Jong Il on Dec. 17, which was announced two days later.

However, it decided not to send an official delegation to Kim's funeral. The DPRK has denounced ROK for not sending an official delegation and banning its people from visiting the DPRK to express their condolences.