President Kim underlines inter-Korean confidence building

President Kim Dae-Jung stressed in an interview with the BBC on Tuesday that South and North Korea should build mutual confidence before reconciliation.

Noting that if the two Koreas hurriedly pursue unification after five decades of hostility, they will suffer spiritual damage, the President asserted that this is not the time to seek unification but to promote tension reduction, cooperation and exchanges, although unification is a cherished dream.

President Kim stated that North Korean Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-Il is greatly concerned about peace on the Korean peninsula and is not a man of small caliber. Kim said that he wished he could have won the Nobel Peace Prize with the North Korean leader.

Asked if he trusts Kim Jong-Il, the President pointed out that the North Korean leader was not opposed to a U. S. military presence on the peninsula even after unification, saying that this was one of the measures for the establishment of mutual confidence.