'South Korean first lady's ancestors from Ayodhya'

South Korea's First Lady Kim Yoon-ok's descendants had royal origin in Ayodhya, said a newspaper report.

Kim, wife of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, is a descendant of one of royal families in Ayodhya dating back two thousand years, The Korea Times has reported quoting the presidential office.

"The office said Kim is a descendant of Heo Hwang-ok, a princess who travelled from an ancient Kingdom in Ayodhya, India, to Korea," the newspaper reported.

"An analysis of DNA samples taken from the site of two royal Gaya tombs in 2004 in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, confirms that there is a genetic link between the Korean ethnic group and certain ethnic groups in India," it said.

"Heo arrived on a boat and married King Suro of Korea's Gaya Kingdom in AD 48, according to Samguk Yusa, an 11th-century collection of legends and stories.

"The chronicle says Princess Heo had a dream about a handsome king from a far away land. After the dream, Heo asked her royal parents for permission to set out on an adventure to find the man of her fate," the report said.

According to the ancient book, Heo sailed to the Korean Peninsula, carrying a stone, with which she claimed to have calmed the waters.

"Archeologists discovered a stone with two fish kissing each other in Korea, which is a unique cultural heritage linked to a royal family in Ayodhya," it said.

The princess is said to have given birth to 10 children, which marked the beginning of the powerful dynasty of Gimhae Kims.