Former S. Korean president calls for North Korea's full denuclearization

Posted on : 2007-09-19 10:38 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST

Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung on Tuesday urged the United States and others to accept all of North Korea's conditions for denuclearization, saying he is convinced Pyongyang will give up its nuclear ambitions if its needs are met.

"Members of the six-party talks should do all that North Korea wants," Kim said at the National Press Club in downtown Washington, "and if North Korea still refuses to give up its nuclear development, then we should impose sanctions."

Kim said he believes his successor, President Roh Moo-hyun, will make the nuclear issue a priority at next month's inter-Korean summit. "The six-party talks are making successful progress, and I think President Roh will strongly push and reach an agreement on a resolution," he said through a translator.

Kim, a dissident-turned-president, arrived in Washington Monday for a week of meetings with congressmen, Korea specialists and opinion leaders. He also visits New York next week.

He was the first South Korean president to hold a summit with North Korea's top leader, Kim Jong-il, since the national division at the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War. That historic encounter in June 2000 won him the Nobel Peace Prize.

Roh will travel to Pyongyang on Oct. 2-4 for the second inter-Korean summit. This time, the meetings will open as North Korean denuclearization talks enter a critical stage in the disablement of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.

The six-party talks involve South and North Korea, the U.S.,

China, Russia and Japan.

North Korea seeks nuclear weapons solely to protect itself against threats from the U.S., said Kim. "As long as its survival is guaranteed, it will definitely give up its nuclear ambitions."

He said he is also convinced Pyongyang will not engage in terrorist activities.

"It will be suicidal for the North to engage in terrorism...

Pyongyang knows it," he said. The U.S. also recognizes this, and it is likely to remove the communist state from the list of terrorism-sponsoring states once North Korea disables its nuclear programs, Kim said.

On inter-Korean unification, he urged the next South Korean president to be patient and look long into the future.

"The South-North unification is a destiny of the Korean Peninsula," the former president said. "But a hasty unification will create strife," he said, "and one should prepare for unification assuming it will take 20 to 30 years."

In a speech preceding the question and answer session, Kim urged his government and the United States to tap quickly into North Korea's economic resources, suggesting that otherwise, China may gain a competitive edge in the area.

"North Korea has rich underground minerals such as tungsten and gold. It also has ample tourism resources," said Kim.

Pyongyang imports 80 percent of its daily necessities from China, he said. "China has been showing interest in various economic projects such as the exploration of North Korea's underground mineral resources."

"I believe, against this backdrop, both South Korea and the United States should advance into the North Korean economy to keep the balance against China."

Kim, the architect of the "sunshine policy" of engaging the North, criticized the George W. Bush administration for refusing to talk directly with Pyongyang during its early years.

"As the president of South Korea, at the time, I repeatedly insisted that President Bush pursue direct dialogue and give-and-take negotiations with North Korea. However, without much success to this end, I left office in February 2003," said Kim.

But the U.S. has since changed its approach, adopting the give-and-take negotiations, he said. "With the principle being implemented now, South Korea will strongly support the stance of the United States."


WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (Yonhap)

Most viewed articles