Even in death, Kim Dae-jung unites Koreas

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By JEAN H. LEE (Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-24 11:43

The DPRK also has been locked in an international standoff with the US and other nations over its atomic ambitions after launching a rocket, test-firing missiles and conducting an underground nuclear test this year.

However, there have been signs the tensions may be easing. After welcoming former President Bill Clinton during his mission to secure the release of two jailed American reporters, the DPRK freed a ROK citizen held for four months. Pyongyang also said it would allow some joint projects to resume.

Kim Dae-jung's death prompted condolences from Kim Jong-il, who authorized the high-level delegation of six to pay their respects — the first time the DPRK has sent officials to mourn a ROK president.

Extending their trip by a day, three DPRK officials met Sunday morning with Lee, relaying Kim Jong-il's thoughts on "progress on inter-Korean cooperation," presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said. He declined to quote the exact message, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

The ROK president then detailed his government's "consistent and firm" policy on the DPRK and reiterated the need for "sincere" dialogue between the two nations, the spokesman said.

Hours later, a somber funeral took place at the National Assembly, where Kim — who endured torture, death threats and imprisonment during his decades as a dissident — triumphantly took the oath of office as the ROK's president in 1998.

Though best known abroad for his efforts to reach out to the DPRK, Kim Dae-jung was admired at home for devoting his life to the fight for democracy during the ROK's early years of authoritarian rule.

A native of South Jeolla Province in the southwest, he went up against Seoul's military and political elite. He narrowly lost to Park Chung-hee in a 1971 presidential election — a near-win that earned him Park's wrath. Weeks later, Kim was injured in a traffic accident he believed was an assassination attempt, and barely survived a Tokyo abduction engineered by ROK intelligence.

In 1980, tens of thousands took to the streets in Kim's southern stronghold, Gwangju, to protest the junta that seized power when Park was assassinated in office. Kim, accused of fomenting the protests, was sentenced to death.

International calls for leniency resulted in a suspended prison sentence, and he went into exile. Returning in 1985, he helped usher in a new era of democracy in the ROK.

Memorials nationwide for the man dubbed the "Nelson Mandela of Asia" for his lifelong struggle for democracy attracted some 700,000 people, the government said.

Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was among the dignitaries who joined more than 20,000 for the funeral at parliament. Another 14,000 mourners gathered outside City Hall to watch a broadcast of the ceremony, police said.

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