One on one with South Korea's President Kim Dae Jung

This man's life is an incredible story. Living through political persecution, physical hardships and economic revolution. The president of South Korea, Kim Dae-jung, talks to Dalton Tanonaka about his relationship with North Korea's Kim Jong-il.

Tanonaka: Do you get the chance very often to sit casually like this and talk with friends or anyone?

President Kim: About three or four times a month I invite my friends over. Talk about what's going on in the world and I get advice from them.

Tanonaka: Who are your friends? I mean, who is among your group? It is other political leaders? Or do you have friends outside of politics?

VIDEO Kim Dae-jung, President of South Korea on Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea, his hold on power and personality. Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Kim Dae-jung talks about North Korean leaders and the Cold War mentality. Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Kim Dae-jung believes Kim Jong-il will visit South Korea within one year. Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

President Kim: Some political figures, academics, business people or cultural figures. A variety, I would say.

Tanonaka: You are 75-years-old, if I'm correct. And you've gone through physical hardships. As I said before, several accidents -- your leg has been injured, your hearing is partially damaged. How do you stay physically fit? What do you eat or drink to stay in such a good shape?

President Kim: Well, the problem with the leg has to do with a car accident, which was not an accident but an intended accident to have me killed, and I have a problem with my hearing. I would say I'm very healthy.

Tanonaka: What do you do for exercise? I hear you love to eat. So I'm wondering how you keep in good physical health.

President Kim: Yes, I try to control what I take so as not to eat too much. And in terms of exercise, there is a very beautiful garden within the Blue House complex. I take walks around the garden, and also use exercise machines inside, running machines and so forth.

Tanonaka: I know family is very important to you. Your wife, Hee Ho Lee, and your 3 sons and your grandchildren whom I know you love. Do you get to spend enough time with them?

President Kim: Yes, I prize those moments with my family, having lunches with them and so forth. Especially as many of my grandsons and daughters have moved overseas so it's hard to get them all together at once, but when they come back I have them visit me here. So I would say I do my very best to keep in frequent contact with the family. In fact, those are my happiest moments.

Tanonaka: Is this love of family, family love, that motivated you to attempt to reach out to North Korea more than political reasons? Is it the family coming together again that drove you to do what you did?

President Kim: Yes, getting along with my family, I could feel for those families separated across south and north, I felt pain for them. I had to do something for these people because family is so important. Family must be equally important for these people. To have to live for 50 years not knowing what has become of your loved ones that has great prices against humanitarianism. This issue has been at the center of my heart all along.

So going to North Korea, one of my goals was to do something for the separated families. To at least win an agreement from the North Korean leader to allow these families to find out about the recent news of one another.

Tanonaka: Describe what kind or person you found Kim Jong-il to be. Besides a political leader, what kind of man was he?

President Kim: The chairman of course has firm control over the party, the government, and the military. He is the man in control of North Korea, no doubt about that. He was quite different from what we had come to know of him. He's very frank, very open-minded, he's a good listener, and when he is convinced of what you are saying, he has the ability to accept that right there on the spot.

In those regards he was again very different from what the world had come to perceive of the North Korean leader.

I shared these thoughts with Secretary Albright, and the Secretary coming back from North Korea, she told me that she also had the same impression.

And the Prime Minister of Sweden who was recently in North Korea and came here to tell us of his experience in the North had the same thing to say about the North Korean leader. So we all share this evaluation of the North Korean leader as a person. He is someone you can talk to. Furthermore, of all leaders in North Korea, he has to be the one who is most aware of outside developments.

Unfortunately the leaders below him are still gripped with a cold war mentality. They are very unaware of developments in the international community so, the Chairman went to Shanghai and had great praise for the Chinese successes and reforms so he appears ready to travel that reform road, but it will take some time for him to educate all those lower level leaders toward that road of reform.

Tanonaka: When is he coming to Seoul?

President Kim: On that question, I can't say when, but I believe he should come within this year. Because I went there last year and he committed himself to a return visit in the joint declaration. He had really resisted the idea of including this in the joint declaration but I stuck with my point and I was able to persuade him to have this included in the joint declaration.

The North Koreans have repeatedly expressed their commitment to adhering to the terms of the joint declaration, so he will come and I believe it will be good if he does come within this year. With smooth progress in U.S.-North Korea negotiations, the possibilities go up for his return visit to take place within this year.

Tanonaka: We are told that he does watch CNN. If you would like to tell him a message directly, please feel to do so now. We give you this opportuinity to again invite him personally.

President Kim: I would like to say to him that he should come to Seoul as soon as possible. That the problems between the two sides should be discussed between the two sides. So as to expand cooperation and exchanges, to make progress along these areas and these efforts between South and North Korea will be beneficial for US-North Korea negotiations. So as soon as possible it would be desired.

Tanonaka: The Nobel Peace Prize that you won last year had to be one of the highlights of your life. What were your thoughts as you stood on that stage in Oslo?

President Kim: Well I did not know I was going to be the winner until they announced it on TV. I was with my wife when we were watching that announcement. And we are very Korean, very traditional, so we don't usually hug. But at that time we hugged. We shared the joy of that moment, so it was a true delight for the two of us.

Of course, the Nobel Peace Prize, my coming to the point of getting this prize, the help of my family, my children, my friends, and other fighters for democracy, their blood and sweat, they have all contributed to this. It is to their sacrifices and their endeavors that I have become the winner. And so I share the prize with all of these people.

Another reason for my getting the prize was the progress of South-North Korean relations. But being the sole winner I had to think of the chairman since we were both in this process together.

The Nobel Peace prize-if you can compare this to an Olympic gold medal … the Olympic gold medal, upon receiving it, your responsibility has ended, you've done what you can. But with the Nobel Peace Prize, your responsibility becomes even greater upon receiving this medal. You commit yourself to greater deeds, to fighting further for democracy and peace and human rights around the world. You have greater expectations placed upon you.

So in that regard, the Nobel Peace Prize, just to repay the honor that was given to me I must do my very best to further the progress in this country. To make this a democratic country upholding human rights. In this regard I'm very proud to say that we've just passed a law to establish a national human rights commission, also vis-ŕ-vis North Korea whereas unification may be a goal far off in the distance to further the peaceful coexistence, exchanges and cooperation between the two sides, and doing my best in this regard. This is another way that I believe I can live up to the expectations placed on me with the prize.

Furthermore, beyond this country, in East Timor, in other areas of the world where the international community must do what it can to uphold human rights. I do not shun these responsibilities. I will do whatever I can. And finally, in this area of the information age, we see that there's been a digital divide. Greater discrepancies between the haves and the have-nots, and these problems also require global attention. And this is something that the haves and the have-nots must work together to alleviate. Otherwise this disparity can cause great disruptions, great instability.

So in whichever forum I am in, the APEC meetings, the channels I can get into, the World Bank messages and so forth, I will put the message through. The message being that the digital divide must be very actively dealt with and addressed. Human rights, democracy, peace, and economic justice…these are the kinds of things that I will continue to dedicate myself to.

Tanonaka: When you were in exile away from your country and in your years in prison, did you ever dream that you would accomplish what you did or could do what you have done?

President Kim: Well I did not have any firm idea that I was going to be president but at no point did I think myself a failure. The key thing in life is not what you become, when you set that as your goal, it's easy to become a failure. If you say I'm going to be president and you don't then you're a failure. But my philosophy in life is not what you become, but what you do. So it was important all along for me what I did. Yes I tried to become president all along but that was not my goal.

My goal has always been doing what I believed in, I've always thought that when I did become president I would do my very best to do the things that I believe was right. I will be judged by history. To make this a better country in terms of democracy and human rights, I'm proud to say that institutions evaluate this country very highly in terms of our human rights. I am, most of all very proud of my achievements along the information sector, and also very happy to have made the breakthrough on inter-Korean relations as well.

Tanonaka: There are many problems in education in Korea. So many families have moved to other countries because they want to get education for their children. What do you think of this situation?

President Kim: Yes there are people who have emigrated, and yes there are critical problems with our education sector, but the problems with the education sector are not unique to this country.

There are problems with the United States, and the rest of the world, and I think all countries are faced with crises in education because we are entering a different kind of society, where we're going from a post-industrial society to an information society. So, all countries are having to adapt and adjust, but my government is not doing nothing about this, we're doing all we can.

For example, the government is taking active steps to get internet connections in all levels of schools, elementary, secondary and so forth. We're giving free education to children of low-income families, giving computer for free to low-income families, giving public sector workers computer educations. So we're doing what we can to introduce key elements that would enable our populations to enter the information age.

But I do know that many parents and children are dissatisfied with the situation and I have my authorities working very hard on the various issues concerned so helpful measures can be worked out. We're spending much more than we have in the past on the education sector.

Tanonaka: Many people admire you for what you have done, you convictions, your beliefs. Whom do you admire or respect? Whether living or passed.

President Kim: Instead of me pointing out a particular figure I would like to point to all who have accomplished their goal of their lives and who have lived their lives not to become something but to live according to their principles. And those who lived a right life are the kind of people who live their lives for their family, for their neighbors, for the society. I think these are the greatest people. Again not what you become but how you live your life. And anyone who lives along this term is the object that I respect.

Dalton: How do you relieve stress?

President Kim: I have a very good way. I try to identify the sources of my stress, I write them down on paper. But then on the other side of the paper I write what the sources of happiness for me. I am living a very good relationship with my wife. My wife is very supportive of me. I am respected and loved by my children.

And then President Bush has announced that they will resume the dialogue with North Korea. So I compare. And when I compare two sides, I always reach the conclusion that in summary, on balance I have to be happy, and also you know it's not very often that one gets to be a president, and it's not often that one gets to be a Noble Peace Prize winner. When I take into all these factors into consideration plus the fact that I have been able to take this country away from the financial crisis.

I have been able to do something for South-North cooperation. So I compared what is stressful and have been my achievements and the things that I can be happy about. But in the end I can say from the authoritarian regime of the past and the past collusion between politics and business in Korea, that I have nothing to do with these very negative practices. I can look at myself. I know that I am right along these terms. That releases me from the stress.

Tanonaka: You are very organised. On this subject, I was talking to somebody earlier. And they were saying the Korean people haven't seen you laugh out loud or smile a long time. What makes you laugh? What makes you smile?

President Kim: Well, in truth, I do laugh a lot and they say I am very humorous too. But On TV, it's very difficult to get that image across so the public has that perception of me. But at home I am always joking and laughing and engaging my wife in humor.

Tanonaka How would like the history books to describe Kim Dae Jung?

President Kim: If future generations do say something about me they would say he has gone through great difficulties, but he stuck to this principle and did not give in pursuing what was right. But I have to say that I am not a strong person. I am not a courageous person . I do not have that much courage.

But despite coming close to death five times, being in prison for six years, being in house arrest and exile overseas for over 30 years, it is my aspiration to live a right life by my standard. If that requires sacrifice and that requires pain, I have to do so.

So for the future generation, I do not want to be described as a person who had been able to overcome all pains because he had extraordinary courage, but that he is a person who had the conscience and who had principles, knew what was right and for that he risked the pain and that was my life. I am not extraordinary. I am not super by any measure.