By Lee Tae-hoon
The late North Korean leader Kim Il-sung proposed secret negotiations with Washington ahead of the assassination of then South Korean first lady Yuk Young-soo in 1974, according to a classified document dated June 6, 1974 from the U.S. Embassy in Senegal.
The revelation came after An Chi-yong, a former journalist based in the United States, posted the confidential dossier, classified as “secret,” on his website “Secrets of Korea,” Tuesday.
It reveals that the North’s founder, father of current leader Kim Jong-il, asked the late Senegalese President Leopold Senghor to deliver a secret message to the U.S. in 1974.
“President Senghor informed me on June 5 that during his recent visit to Pyongyang, Kim Il-sung charged him with a message for the United States government,” according to the dossier.
“Kim Il-sung said the DPRK (North Korea) would welcome secret negotiations with the USG (U.S. government) on the future of Korea.”
The suggestion was made two months before the assassination of the first lady on Aug. 15, 1974.
Yuk was shot by a Japan-born Korean believed to be a communist sympathizer and having acted upon orders from a pro-Pyongyang organization there.
The dossier also offers a glimpse of Kim Il-sung’s attitude toward Washington and Tokyo and his thoughts on the unification of the two Koreas.
“The North Korean leader told Senghor he felt the DPRK’s enemy in the Pacific is Japan, not us,” the document stated.
“What North Korea seeks is a confederation, not suppression of South Korea, and within that confederation, there would be a place for U.S. influence in the South.”
Another U.S. government document that cites a New York Times article by Richard Halloran reveals that Kim Il-sung may have sought a similar favor from the late Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Miki before the 1974 assassination.
“Halloran (NYT 8/10) says Kim Il-sung informed President Ford through Prime Minister Miki he wants to open direct talks with us to settle outstanding issues of Korea,” according to the dossier dated Aug. 11, 1975. “Wants us to send envoy to prepare agenda for talks with HAK (Henry A. Kissinger) on U.S. troop withdrawal, peace treaty to replace 1953 truce.”
The two Koreas remain technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty
It remains uncertain whether the communist North succeeded in holding bilateral talks with Washington.
A declassified U.S. document shows that Pyongyang continued its efforts to have dialogue with the U.S. even after the tragic assassination took place.
It says on Aug. 27 1974 an aide to then Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu met with then U.S. President Ford at the White House to deliver a message from Kim Il-sung.
“The North Korean leadership wants to have confidential contact with the United States for discussions,” according to the declassified memorandum from President Gerald Ford’s files.
Yet, Ford’s response to the repeated proposal for talks was lukewarm.
“Certain things must precede such contacts. We don’t want to go in without a firm understanding,” the U.S. President was quoted as saying in the declassified documents.
북한, 1974년 시해 사건 전 미국에 회담 제의
1974년 6월 6일 발간된 세네갈 미국 대사관의 문서에 따르면, 김일성 전 북한 주석이 1974년 육영수 여사의 암살을 앞두고 미국에 비밀접촉을 제안했다고 밝혔다.
문서엔 “세네갈 대통령은 6월 5일 평양 방문 기간 동안, 김일성 주석이 미국 정부의 메신저 역할을 부여했다,”고 밝혔다.
이 문서는 “김일성 주석은 미래 한국에 대한 논의를 위해 미국과의 비밀 교섭을 환영한다”고 밝혔다.
이 제안은 1974년 8월 15일인 육영수 여사의 암살이 있기 두 달 전에 있었다.
이 문서는 또한 김일성 주석의 미국과 일본 및 한반도의 통일에 대한 소견 또한 잠깐 언급되었다.
문서엔 “북한 지도자는 세네갈 대통령에게 미국이 아닌 일본이 북한의 최대 적인 것 같다고 말했다,”고 밝혔다.
“북한이 추구하는 것은 남한을 압박하려는 것이 아니라 연방제를 원하며 연방제하에서 미국은 한국에 영향력을 행사할 수 있는 여지가 있다"고 설명했다.
뉴욕 타임즈 리차드 할로란 기자의 기사를 인용한 또 다른 미국 정부 문서엔 1974년 암살 사건 전 김일성이 미키 다케오 일본총리를 통해 비슷한 요구를 했다고 언급했다.
“할로란 기자는 김일성이 미키 총리를 통해 포드 대통령에게 한국의 현안문제해결을 위해 미북 직접대화를 하자는 제의를 했다,”고 보도했다
그러나 미국 문서엔 비극적인 암살 사건 이후에도 북한은 미국과의 대화를 위해 끊임없이 노력했다고 전했다.
US commander vows combat preparedness 
S. Korea not considering redeployment of US nuclear weapons: Cheong Wa Dae 
Cambodia accuses US journalist of espionage, overthrowing Park Geun-hye 
F-35Bs, B-1Bs sent to S. Korea 
Who's to blame: fans, turf or players? 
S. Korean football captain blames fans over draw 
N. Korea threatens to kill S. Korean journalists 
Gov't vows crackdown on hidden camera crimes 
Defense ministry to investigate mysterious deaths of soldiers 
Man fined for editing Wikipedia to identify Moon as N. Korean politician 
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
