 |
|
Former president Kim Dae-jung met with speaker of the National Assemby Lim Chae-jung at home on July 11.
|
Says S.K. should ignore Tokyo’s rumblings and pursue unity
Regarding North Korea’s missile launches on July 5, former president Kim Dae-jung said, "I cannot understand Pyongyang’s actions. The North will suffer a loss [due to the test launch], as well." Kim talked to Lim Chae-jung, speaker of the National Assembly, who visited him at home on July 11. "The neoconservatives of the United States and those demanding the rearmament of Japan are delighted at North Korea’s missile tests. In addition, wise figures in South Korea, the U.S., and Japan are in trouble." The remarks were reported by Jeong Gyeong-hwan, Lim’s spokesperson. Due to the missile tests, former president Kim said, "almost 90 percent of Japanese people support their nation once again becoming a military power. Our people are opposed to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, but will certainly not agree to make the Korean Peninsula a battlefield, to escalate tension, or to make further attempts to divide the North and South," he continued.Regarding a solution to currently tense South-North relations, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate stressed that the Korean Peninsula "was divided without our noticing, by pressure from the U.S. and the Soviet Union. As such, to continue the division cannot be justified. We should support North Korea to manage its economy by itself." The former president repeatedly urged the South Korean government to continue inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation, saying that both countries "should seek to make profit together in the fields of culture and sports. The example in point is the [joint North-South] Kaesong Industrial Complex and the tours to [the North’s] Mt. Geumgang.
