Kim-Dae-Jung

Former South Korean spy chief Lee Hu-rak, who brokered the signing of a historic 1972 peace document with North Korea following a secret trip to Pyongyang, died Saturday. He was 85. Lee, who had been hospitalized since early May, died of old age and a brain tumor, said Park Yu-kyoung, a spokeswoman at Kyung Hee University East-West Neo Medical Center in Seoul. Lee, a retired army major general, was a close associate of former President Park Chung-hee, who ruled South Korea with an iron fist for 18 years following a coup in 1961. While serving as Park's top intelligence officer, Lee traveled to Pyongyang ... Read Full Story

by Park Chan-Kyong SEOUL (AFP) -- North Korean envoys sent to mourn former South Korean leader Kim Dae-Jung called Saturday for an improvement in inter-Korean ties during the highest-level talks between the neighbours in nearly two years. They also asked for a meeting with conservative President Lee Myung-Bak, Yonhap news agency said, because they were carrying a message from North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il that they wanted to convey. Relations between the two Koreas, who never signed a peace deal following the 1950-53 Korean War, deteriorated after Lee came to power last year pledging to take a firmer line with Kim Jong-Il and his ... Read Full Story

by Park Chan-Kyong SEOUL (AFP) -- North Korean envoys sent to mourn former South Korean leader Kim Dae-Jung called Saturday for an immediate improvement in inter-Korean ties, media pool reports said, after months of frosty relations. They also asked for a meeting with conservative President Lee Myung-Bak, Yonhap news agency said, because they were carrying a message from North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il that they wanted to convey. Relations between the two Koreas, who never signed a peace deal following the 1950-53 Korean War, deteriorated after Lee came to power last year pledging to take a firmer line with Kim Jong-Il and his isolated ... Read Full Story

by Park Chan-Kyong SEOUL (AFP) -- North Korean envoys sent to mourn former South Korean leader Kim Dae-Jung called Saturday for an immediate improvement in inter-Korean ties and talks with the country's president, media pool reports said. "The North Koreans said they were carrying a message from (North Korea's leader) Chairman Kim Jong-Il," an unidentified government official was quoted as telling Yonhap news agency. Their wish to meet with President Lee Myung-Bak was conveyed to South Korea's Unification Minister Hyun In-Taek on Saturday. Hyun was talking to the president's office about the offer, the official said. "While meeting many South Koreans here, I came ... Read Full Story

by Lim Chang-Won SEOUL (AFP) -- North Korean envoys delivered a message from their leader Kim Jong-Il when they met South Korea's president on Sunday, raising hopes of an end to high tensions that had sparked fears of military clashes. Details of the verbal message were not disclosed. But both sides at the first high-level North-South meeting since President Lee Myung-Bak took office 18 months ago expressed hopes for warmer ties after more than a year of deep hostility from Pyongyang. "I'm leaving with good feelings," Kim Ki-Nam, a close aide to Kim Jong-Il, told reporters as he left for the airport after the ... Read Full Story