SOUTH KOREA: Late president Kim's aide says North wants to send a delegation to pay respects

Record ID: 500251

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: Late president Kim's aide says North wants to send a delegation to pay respects
  • Date: 21st August 2009
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (AUGUST 19, 2009) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) HAN SEUNG-SOO, SOUTH KOREA'S PRIME MINISTER, SAYING "He was a great leader in South Korea. We will remember his achievements for a long time. We will conduct his funeral service with the best respect and regard." (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) FORMER PRESIDENT CHUN DOO HWAN WALKING INTO CEREMONIAL FUNERAL
  • Embargoed: 5th September 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations,Obituaries
  • Reuters ID: LVAA6R13Y4JBLULG3BNFZ946057Y
  • Story Text: An aide of the late South Korea's president Kim Dae-jung said on Wednesday (August 19) that the North wanted to send a delegation to the South to pay its respects.
    Park Ji-won, a close aide of the late Kim, held a news conference at Yonsei Severance Hospital in Seoul, where he told reporters that Kim's Peace Centre was informed about the North's delegation's visit.
    "(Kim Jong-il) sent a telegraphic condolence with his name on it as soon as the news of former president Kim's death was reported. Also, he authorised a special delegation to express their condolences. They will visit with a flower basket from Chairman Kim Jong-il," said Park, quoting the Korea Asia Pacific Peace Committee.
    The North said it would send a five member delegation that may arrive ahead of the funeral, which is expected to be held in about a week in the capital Seoul.
    Kim Dae-jung died on Tuesday (August 18) at the age of 85. An extraordinary figure in South Korea's shift to democracy, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for a June 2000 summit with Kim Jong-il and for his efforts to reconcile with the prickly North.
    South's unification ministry also confirmed that Kim Jong-il had delivered a condolence message.
    "At dawn, North Korean Central News Agency reported the death of former president of South Korea Kim Dae-Jung, and the condolence message from North Korea's leader Kim Jung-Il to Kim's family," said Chun Hae-sung, a spokesman for the ministry.
    As South Korean grieves the loss of its former leader, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and former president Chun Doo-hwan visited Kim's altar at the hospital.
    "He was a great leader in South Korea. We will remember his achievements for a long time. We will conduct his funeral service with the best respect and regard," said Han, before entering the altar.
    Analysts said Kim's death could help improve ties between the Koreas, which have soured since President Lee Myung-bak took power in the South about 18 months ago and angered the impoverished North by cutting off a steady flow of aid it had seen since the 2000 summit.
    ENDS.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register