Report: Former President Kim Young-sam, who officially ended decades of military rule in South Korea, passed away on Sunday at the age of 87.
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Authorities said he died of complications from sepsis and heart failure three days after being admitted to the hospital.
North Korea proposes talks with its South Korean counterpart to be held on November 26th at the Truce Village facility, Panmunjeom in the DMZ, according to the North’s official news agency, KCNA.
South Korea’s special representative for Korean peace and security Hwang Joon-kook will travel to China next week to discuss resuming long-stalled six-way talks on the North Korea’s nuclear program. Kim feared a attainable war. If Ban’s does plan a return to politics in South Korea, demonstrating a rapport with North Korea’s leadership may prove valuable.
He also had the two generals who served as presidents before him indicted and convicted on treason charges, although he pardoned both men at the end of his presidency.
Former US President Jimmy Carter arranged a meeting between Kim Young Sam and then-North Korean leader Kim Il Sung when he flew to Pyongyang to defuse the crisis that year.
During his presidency, he was credited with disbanding military faction, abolishing bank accounts held under aliases, and launching a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown.
But his popularity nosedived after his son was arrested on charges of bribery and his government was forced to receive an worldwide bailout from the global Monetary Fund during the Asian financial crisis.
Kim was born on December 20, 1927 on Koje Island off the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula.
During that chaotic period, Maj.
In the 1980s, he was also placed under house arrest twice for his activism, during which is staged a 23-day hunger strike to protest the government’s oppressive actions.
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Kim spent more than three decades in opposition as an advocate for democracy, though he later joined hands with military leader Roh Tae-woo and others to create a new ruling party.
