A South Korean association of liberal priests attended mass in Pyongyang to pray for the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday.
 
According to the Ministry of Unification and the Catholic Priests' Association for Justice (CPAJ) on Tuesday, 12 priests from the association, including its head Kim In-guk, traveled to Pyongyang via Beijing on Friday.
 
They prayed for peaceful reunification during mass at a church in Pyongyang and visited other Catholic-related facilities in the North Korean capital.
 
It is the first time that members of the association have visited the North since September 2008 when 96 priests arrived in Pyongyang to pray for reunification.
 
The CPAJ, in conjunction with a Buddhist association, sought government approval in June 2009 to attend a reunification prayer event, but the plan was rejected.
 
The government again rejected a CPAJ request to visit the North in December 2011 to offer condolences for the death of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
 
Some analysts believe the government allowing the group to visit the North for the first time in seven years signifies a beginning in the revitalization of civilian exchanges between the two Koreas.
 
Observers also speculate that as the government approved the visit of an association critical of the administration, it may also accept trips to North Korea by other liberal groups.
 
A government official said it approved the visit as it was purely a religious exchange.
 
The priests will return via Beijing on Tuesday.