Kim Dae-jung stresses need for joint Korean summit

Kim Dae-jung

Former president says meeting must be held, even in Roh’s last year in office

Former president Kim Dae-jung stressed that it would be desirable to hold a joint Korean summit, regardless of the fact that President Roh Moo-hyun’s term will end in February 2008. Kim also predicted that the U.S. and North Korea would both take a direction toward solving the nuclear problem this year.

Kim’s remarks were made during a January 4 interview with Oh Kwi-hwan, managing editor of the Hankyoreh.

In connection with the possibility of solving the North’s nuclear crisis, Kim said, "This year will see a turning point. I think that the possibility of solving the issue is higher than during last year."

He stressed that the U.S. began to unveil a possible package deal for the North when President Bush said during the November Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings that he would move toward an official peace treaty to end the Korean War. The North displayed its power to neighboring countries by conducting a nuclear test, Kim said, adding that now Pyongyang has the opportunity to solve the problem.

The Korean War has been at a stalemate since the end of heavy combat in 1953, with only an armistice signed.

The North Korea nuclear issue should be resolved at the six-party talks along with South-North negotiations, and the inter-Korean summit would provide a chance for both items to be covered, Kim said, emphasizing that the summit should be accomplished this year. "Before Roh leaves office, the summit should be achieved, or the momentum could be lost," Kim said.

Regarding the controversy surrounding South Korea regaining wartime operational control of its armed forces from the U.S. Forces Korea, Kim said, "The U.S. wants to return the wartime command as part of a change in its world strategy, so it will be useless to repeatedly insist on the U.S.’s not returning the command," adding that the South Korean government should be urged to keep intact the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Agreement and the U.S. provision of a nuclear umbrella.

In relation to prospects for this December’s presidential election, Kim said, "It will not be possible [to predict an outcome] until the second half of this year."

Asked whether, due to a gap of popularity between the ruling and opposition camps - the ruling camp’s being low and the opposition’s high - the presidential election will likely be a one-sided affair, Kim replied, "After the first half of this year, it will be revealed whether the ruling camp is properly prepared for the election. We will be able to confirm approval ratings for the parties by that time."

Regarding the current multi-party system, Kim mentioned that it was not the people’s choice, but rather the politicians’ making. South Koreans tend to choose a two-party system, said Kim, indicating that a party split of the Uri Party and Democratic Party was against the people’s wishes and that the ruling camp might reintegrate ahead of the presidential election.

As for managing state affairs during the final year of a presidential term under South Korea’s five-year, single-term system - often a time when Korean presidents lose a great deal of public support - Kim said, "I completely withdrew from politics and chose two or three policy tasks for each ministry. I finished them through the last days of my term. I believe [this plan of action] was the right decision."

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