Ex-SKorean President Kim Dae-jung dies at 85

The former president of South Korea, Kim Dae-jung, has died at the age of 85.

Mr Kim, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000, died today in a hospital in Seoul, after being treated for pneumonia for the last month.

His death was announced at just after 13:40 local time (05:40 BST), by a spokesman at the Severance hospital.

Mr Kim was president of South Korea from 1998 and 2003 and spent years attempting to pursue democracy and reconciliation with North Korea, and had pioneered his country's 'Sunshine Policy'.

During his time in office he survived numerous attempts to take his life, including assignation attempts and a death sentence.

He fought for human rights and democracy in his homeland and was branded a 'radical' during the country's military dictatorship. On his fourth attempt at the presidency he was elected in 1997, marking the first peaceful transfer of power since 1948.

His efforts as president to reconcile with North Korea culminated in the North-South summit. However, all reconciliation ties were cut last year, though yesterday attempts to restore them were announced with the lifting of movement restriction for tourism and families.

Mr Kim had described the biggest achievement of his presidency as the summit with Kim Jong-il in 2000, which paved the way to reconciliation between the north and the south and saw him win the Nobel Prize.


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