 Lim Dong-won |
Staff Reporter
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il proposed holding the second inter-Korean summit in Russia, a former unification minister said in his memoirs published earlier this week.
Lim Dong-won, 74, tells behind-the-scene stories in the book, based on experiences he had while helping former President Kim Dae-jung design the ``Sunshine Policy'' for engaging North Korea and coordinating the first inter-Korean summit in 2000. The book is titled ``Peacemaker.''
According to the book, when Lim visited Pyongyang in April, 2002 as a special envoy to discuss Kim Jong-il's return visit, the North Korean leader expressed negative opinion on a Seoul trip.
``I intended to visit Seoul last spring. But the situation has changed as Bush who keeps a hawkish stance toward the North was elected as U.S. president,'' Kim Jong-il was quoted as saying. ``As the Grand National Party and other conservative forces are fostering an anti-North Korea mood, my aides advise me not to go to Seoul because it can worsen the situation.''
Instead, the head of the Stalinist state suggested holding an inter-Korean summit in Irkuck, Siberia. ``If necessary, we can discuss ways to link with the trans-Siberian railway through the three-way summit with the Russian president.''
However, former President Kim refused to accept the suggestion considering it might invite misunderstanding from allies such as the United States, Lim said.
Regarding highly-enriched uranium (HEU) used for the North's second nuclear weapons program, the former minister, who also served as director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), claimed that the related information that Washington sent to Seoul in October 2002 was not certain.
``Even though the United States called for suspension of constructing railways and roads mentioning the HEU, we insisted on studying countermeasures until we find obvious evidence,'' he wrote in the book.
Lim recalled that the government established a ``hotline'' between South and North Korean leaders right after the 2000 inter-Korean summit, which had been used when the two Koreas faced crises.
When the navies of both countries fought a gun-battle in June 2002, the North sent an emergency note reading, ``This incident was found to be just a contingency. We feel regret,'' he recalled.
Lim also introduced interesting anecdotes regarding Kim Jong-il in 2002.
``I often visit web sites of Cheong Wa Dae, the National Intelligence Service and the Unification Ministry,'' the North Korean leader was quoted as saying. ``I think it is a very good idea that the ministry has the site, named Learning About North Korea Correctly."
Kim was also interested in South Korean soap operas and films such as ``Joint Security Area'' which depicts a tragic story of soldiers guarding near the truce village of Panmunjeom, Lim added.
Lim served as unification minister twice, in 1999 and 2001 and worked as a special secretary for Kim Dae-jung, the Noble Peace Prize laureate in 2000.
Former President Kim adopted the June 15 Joint Declaration with the North Korean leader during the first inter-Korean summit, under which the two sides agreed on economic cooperation and resolving humanitarian issues such as reunion of displaced families.
ksy@koreatimes.co.kr
