SEOUL - South Korea's former first lady Lee Hee-ho and Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun will visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) next week to offer condolences on the death of the DPRK's leader Kim Jong-il, Seoul's government said Saturday.

After inter-Korean governmental consultations, Lee, the wife of the late former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, and Hyun, the spouse of late Hyundai Group Chairman Chung Mong-hun will cross the inter-Korean border via land route through the DPRK's border city of Kaesong next Monday and return home on Tuesday, Seoul's Ministry of Unification, in charge of inter-Korean affairs, said in a statement.

A total of 18 people will be included in the team, including family members and entourages of Lee and Hyun, but no politicians or prominent figures will go along with them, the ministry said.

The team will not attend the funeral scheduled Wednesday, it added.

Seoul said on Tuesday that it decided not to send an official delegation to the DPRK. But it allowed the two women to pay condolence visits, as Pyongyang sent separate delegations to Seoul in 2003 and 2009 respectively to honor the deaths of former Hyundai Group Chairman Chung and ex-President Kim because of their contribution to the inter-Korean relations.