Seoul, Aug 23 (DPA) Tens of thousands of South Koreans and international delegates attended the state funeral for former president and Nobel peace laureate Kim Dae Jung Sunday, which also prompted talks with North Korean envoys after months of stalled negotiations.
Kim, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for achieving a detente with North Korea and bringing democratic reform to South Korea, died aged 83 last Tuesday, as a result of pneumonia and related illnesses.
About 24,000 guests, including former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright and former South Korean presidents Kim Young Sam and Chun Doo Hwan attended the state funeral at the national assembly in Seoul.
Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of the capital to watch the convoy carrying the hearse through the city of Seoul to the National Cemetery, where Kim was to be buried.
President Lee Myung Bak attended the funeral alongside Prime Minister Han Seung Soo, who praised Kim as a “great leader of modern history”, whose sacrifices and courage had brought democracy, human rights, and freedom to blossom as progressed the reconciliation of the Korean people.
North Korea had sent a high-ranking delegation to the state funeral, which met with South Korean leader Lee Myung Bak ahead of the funeral, the first dialogue between the two sides following months of silence.
During his term in office from 1998 to 2003, Kim had promoted the country’s “Sunshine Policy”, seeking a detente with North Korea. He received the Nobel Peace Award for his work for democracy, human rights and reconciliation with North Korea.
Kim was the second South Korean president to die this year. His successor Roh Moo Hyun committed suicide in May.
