Kim Dae Jung
Kim Dae Jung
Kim Dae-jungwas the 8th President of South Korea from 1998 to 2003, and the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient. He was sometimes referred to as the "Nelson Mandela of Asia"...
NationalitySouth Korean
ProfessionWorld Leader
Date of Birth3 December 1925
crisis difficult financial suffering
But when I was elected, there's such a financial crisis out of my expectation, so I am now, you know, suffering from such difficult conditions.
economic korea north order shortage social suffering
But North Korea is very much suffering from economic difficulties, especially shortage of food. So social order is very much wavering.
asia becoming northeast region
I think so, because you know Northeast Asia is becoming a very important, you know, region economically, militarily, and politically.
korea moderate north
So moderate is insisting that North Korea should open door to outside.
mutual presence
So for mutual interest, I do want American presence in this region.
light korea two
And also, we are providing, you know, a nuclear power plant in the north, two light water systems, so some 4 or 5 billion dollars we are providing to meet with North Korean requests on the condition North Korea will not produce a nuclear weapon.
strong forgiving magnanimous
Only the truly magnanimous and strong are capable of forgiving and loving.
korea west-germany east-germany
You know, North Korea situation is far worse than East Germany, and South Korea is weaker than West Germany.
asia unification stability
Unification is one thing, and stability in Northeast Asia is another thing.
military successful korea
There is some sign that North Korea is changing recently. There is ongoing successful negotiation to have a military talk to Pyongyang, which has been stopped for seven years.
korea want regimes
So South Korean ability is very much limited to handle North Korean, you know, difficulties. So we don't want to see an immediate collapse of the North Korea regime.
goal program unification
Unification is not our present goal. That is a future program.
balance causes stability
American presence is, you know, the major cause of balance of power and the stability in this region.
years reform may
So now we are pushing economic reform, bank reform and enterprise reform. So we can finish that reform this year, in September or October. Then our economy may be much more, you know, normalized.