WASHINGTON _ U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos, a Holocaust survivor who advocated for engagement with North Korea while pushing for human rights, died Monday from cancer. He was 80.
Rep. Lantos, a Democrat from California, announced his retirement last month after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer in late December, during his 14th term.
President George W. Bush said he was saddened by the congressman's death and will miss his leadership.
"As the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, Tom was a living reminder that we must never turn a blind eye to the suffering of the innocent at the hands of evil men," he said in a statement.
Elected to office in 1980, Lantos had been the chairman of the House foreign affairs committee since January 2007. He was also a senior member of the House committee on oversight and government reform.
His commitment to human rights was forged when he lost nearly his entire family in the Holocaust.
The congressman made two separate trips to Pyongyang in 2005 to discuss North Korea's denuclearization and building trust between the two countries. He was a long-time supporter of direct dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang to resolve differences, and had sought to visit the North again as committee chairman before his illness.
Lantos is survived by his wife, Annette, two daughters and 18 grandchildren.
(Yonhap)