N. Korean man seeks inheritance from deceased father in South

SEOUL, July 31 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean man is seeking to inherit part of the assets left behind by his father who died in the South, government and court officials here said Sunday, just weeks after a similar case ended in assets being split among family members across the two Koreas. The man in his 50s is currently preparing to file a lawsuit against a South Korean citizen, who was not identified, through the help of an agent in China and a lawyer in South Korea, the officials said on condition of anonymity. The man's late father reportedly left behind an inheritance worth millions of dollars. The alleged case comes on the heels of a similar inheritance dispute that ended earlier this month after a Seoul court mediated the split of assets worth 10 billion won (US$9.35 million) between South Korean and North Korean family members of a North Korean man who died here in 1987. It was the first time North Koreans won partial ownership of assets left by a relative in the South. The lawyer in charge of the new case visited relevant South Korean ministries last month to discuss the possibility of transferring assets out of the country, according to a government official. "The lawyer was preparing to accept the case. We explained that since a relevant bill is currently under way, it would be best to wait and see how that progresses," the official said. The bill, introduced by the Justice Ministry in February, seeks to restrict North Koreans from transferring their inherited assets out of South Korea, although it grants their ownership over them. The large amount of assets involved in the recent inheritance lawsuits has raised suspicions of an intervention by the North Korean regime, the official added. "Judging from the recent cases, it seems like the North Koreans are filing lawsuits with detailed knowledge of their parents' inheritance. Wouldn't that be difficult without the (North Korean) government's help?" the official said. Millions of family members were separated during the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty, leaving the sides technically in a state of war.