South Korea will allow an international women's group to enter the country on a planned march from North Korea by crossing the heavily-fortified demilitarised zone (DMZ), South Korean government officials said on Friday.
The WomenCrossDMZ group, headed by activist and feminist Gloria Steinem, says it plans to embark on the May 24 march from the North Korean capital Pyongyang to the DMZ separating the two Koreas to "call for an end to the Korean War".
"There are some procedural steps left but we are headed in the direction of giving a green light," a government official said.
The official said Seoul had not yet publicly announced its approval because of ongoing discussions with United Nations Command (UNC) - the body in charge of the Panmunjom border crossing where North and South Korean soldiers stand across from each other in a daily face-off.
The group will be encouraged to cross at the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Zone border post, another official said.