Lee Jae-myung "21st Anniversary of the June 15 Declaration... We Will Not Forget President Kim Dae-jung's Great Step"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, stated on the 15th, the 21st anniversary of the June 15th North-South Joint Declaration, that he will not forget the great steps and passionate heart of former President Kim Dae-jung.

On this day, Lee said through Facebook, "I still seem to hear the cheers from when the two leaders of the North and South embraced at Pyongyang Sunan Airport in June 2000," adding, "The June 15 Joint Declaration and peace on the Korean Peninsula were not born overnight."

He continued, "President Kim Dae-jung presented election pledges on October 16, 1970, including the guarantee of war deterrence on the Korean Peninsula by the four major powers?the US, China, the Soviet Union, and Japan?reconciliation and exchange between North and South Korea, peaceful unification, and the abolition of reserve forces," and evaluated, "At a time when all unification theories other than northward unification were considered subversive and the East-West Cold War and arms race were at their peak, President Kim Dae-jung was already seeing the flow of the times."

He added, "Just two years later, in 1972, the US president made the first visit to China, and with the signing of trade agreements with the Soviet Union and the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) agreement to limit nuclear weapons development, the era of d?tente began," and said, "In this way, President Kim Dae-jung foresaw the future and prepared one step ahead of the times, and all those efforts were ultimately to improve the lives of the people living on the Korean Peninsula."

Lee further stated, "Even during his presidency, President Kim Dae-jung prepared for political management through all-night meetings with his aides," and said, "From his inauguration in 1998 until his retirement, President Kim Dae-jung had 27 notebooks with notes numbered 1, 2, and 3. The great man respected worldwide was a motherly-hearted person who worried deeply for the people and carefully managed every small number and statistic to advance peace on the Korean Peninsula and the livelihood of the people."

Finally, on the 21st anniversary of the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration today, Lee pledged not to forget your great steps and passionate heart.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.