Roh’s eyebrow-raising remarks

Posted on : 2007-10-04 10:52 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
S. Korean president toasts N. Korean leader’s health and long life

Visiting Pyongyang for the inter-Korean summit, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun did not seem to care much about the deep-rooted, anti-communist and anti-Kim Jong-il sentiments held by some of the conservatives in his home country, causing a mixed reaction from observers. Some expressed satisfaction, while others raised concerns about the daring, and potentially controversial, comments he made throughout the two rounds of summit talks held yesterday.

Roh’s cheering remarks during the dinner on October 2 are a prime example of this. One and a half hours after the dinner started, Roh left his table and rushed to the microphone. He said, “There is one thing surely needed for inter-Korean peace and economic development. North Korea’s National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il should live a long and healthy life, and Kim Yong-nam, standing committee chairman of the Supreme People’s Assembly, should also stay healthy. A little while ago, I forgot to pray for their health during the cheering remarks. Why don’t you raise your glasses to that?”
Upon hearing such words, even North Korean officials worried about a possible backlash from the South.

Roh seemed to have made the impromptu cheering remarks as he felt little bit sorry for not responding to Kim Jong-il's comments on the health of he and his wife. Roh did not mention Kim’s health, instead said, “Thanks Kim Yong-nam, for providing this place and I'd like to propose a toast for peace, prosperity and development on the Korean peninsula.” During summit talks in 2000, former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung wished the committee chairman health and luck during his cheering remarks.

Experts see Roh’s surprise remarks as part of a highly-calculated effort to draw attention to his achievements. On the same day, Roh visited the North’s National Assembly building and left a message in a guest book, which read: “This is the place of the people’s sovereignty, from which their happiness originates.”

Experts say that Roh made such remarks thinking that there was no need to spare any respect for the North Korean regime and its leader at a time when he was holding a summit meeting with North Korean leader in Pyongyang.

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