Former South Korean spy master Lee Hu-rak dies
SEOUL, South Korea — Former South Korean spy chief Lee Hu-rak, who brokered the signing of a historic 1972 peace document with North Korea following a secret trip to Pyongyang, died Saturday. He was 85.
Lee, who had been hospitalized since early May, died of old age and a brain tumor, said Park Yu-kyoung, a spokeswoman at Kyung Hee University East-West Neo Medical Center in Seoul.
Lee, a retired army major general, was a close associate of former President Park Chung-hee, who ruled South Korea with an iron fist for 18 years following a coup in 1961.
While serving as Park’s top intelligence officer, Lee traveled to Pyongyang in 1972, met then-leader Kim Il Sung — the father of current leader Kim Jong Il — and helped broker a joint statement in which the two Koreas agreed to work toward peacefully reunifying their divided peninsula.
Lee’s trip was made at the height of Cold War rivalry between the Koreas, and he reportedly carried cyanide to kill himself in case negotiations failed and he was taken hostage.
The July 4 joint communique was hailed as the first major accord between the Koreas on unification since the Korean War ended with a fragile truce in 1953. However, it was thrown into limbo a year later when Pyongyang cut off ties with Seoul, criticizing it for having agents kidnap a South Korean opposition leader in Japan.
Lee allegedly ordered the abduction of Kim Dae-jung, who eventually won the South Korean presidency in the late 1990s, to help cement Park’s rule. Kim forgave Lee and others involved in the 1973 kidnapping as part of his efforts to promote national reconciliation after becoming the president in 1998.
The two Koreas signed a similar peace agreement when Kim Dae-jung met Kim Jong Il in a landmark summit in Pyongyang in 2000. Kim Dae-jung won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to reconcile with North Korea.
Lee also served as a national legislator but was forced to quit politics after Park was assassinated by his intelligence chief, Kim Jae-kyu, during a drinking party in 1979. Park’s successor Chun Doo-hwan, an army general who seized power through a coup later that year, banned Lee from engaging in politics for several years, citing his alleged corruption.
Lee served as head of the Korea Central Intelligence Agency, a predecessor of the National Intelligence Service, from 1970-1973 after working as Park’s top spokesman and chief of staff. He is survived by three sons and one daughter, hospital spokeswoman Park said.
Lee’s body is to be buried Tuesday in a national cemetery in Daejeon, some 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Seoul, according to his family.
Related News
Plumes of smoke billowing across northeastern NKorea in recent satellite images taken by NASAOctober 22nd, 2009 NASA: Huge fires across parts of NKorea last weekSEOUL, South Korea — NASA has posted a satellite image showing huge plumes of smoke billowing across northeastern North Korea. NASA says on its Web site that the image was taken Oct.
Official: NKorea wants SKorea to reward it for resuming reunions of separated familiesSeptember 30th, 2009 Official: NKorea seeks reward for family reunionsSEOUL, South Korea — North Korea wants South Korea to reward it for resuming reunions of families separated by the Korean War, an official said Sunday after the communist nation hosted the first such meetings in two years. Hundreds of Korean families separated for more than half a century were reunited Saturday under a temporary reunion program.
US says partners must keep close coordination during "uncertain time" in NKoreaSeptember 21st, 2009 US pledges close cooperation on NKoreaNEW YORK — The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia says five nations pressing North Korea to abandon its nuclear program must coordinate closely during an "uncertain time" in the communist country.
South Korean officials headed to North Korea to prepare for separated family reunionsSeptember 20th, 2009 SKorea sends team to NKorea for family reunionsSEOUL, South Korea — South Korean officials headed Monday to North Korea to prepare for a new round of reunion visits for families separated by the Korean War, amid easing tensions on the divided peninsula. The 10-member team will work with North Korean officials to check the hotel, communication lines and other details of the six days of reunions at the North's Diamond Mountain resort, Seoul's Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said.
Body of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung moved into place for state funeralAugust 20th, 2009 Body of SKorea's Kim moved into place for funeralSEOUL, South Korea — The body of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung has been transported to the National Assembly, where it will lie in state until his funeral Sunday. Kim died Tuesday at age 85, unleashing an outpouring of grief for a man who campaigned for democracy at home and won the Nobel Peace Prize for a historic summit with rival North Korea.
Report: Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung dies at age 85August 18th, 2009 Report: Former South Korean president diesSEOUL, South Korea — Yonhap news agency says former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung has died. The 85-year-old leader had been hospitalized since last month for pneumonia.
Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung dies at age 85August 18th, 2009 Former South Korean president diesSEOUL, South Korea — Kim Dae-jung, who as a longtime opposition leader survived assassination attempts and a death sentence to become president of South Korea, and whose unflagging efforts to reconcile with communist North Korea earned him the Nobel Peace Prize, died Tuesday, hospital officials said. He was 85. Kim, who had been hospitalized with pneumonia since last month, died shortly after 1:40 p.m.
North Korea to open up borders for South Korean touristsAugust 17th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea Monday said it was reopening its borders for inter-Korean tourism projects with South Korea and to remove obstacles from the operation of a jointly-run business park, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported. In a joint press release, Hyundai and North's Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, which runs inter-Korean business affairs, announced to "restore" passage for South Korean personnel to the Kaesong industrial park.
Report: South Korean fishing boat taken to North KoreaJuly 30th, 2009 Report: SKorean fishing boat taken to NKoreaSEOUL, South Korea — North Korea seized a South Korean fishing boat early Thursday after it accidentally crossed the countries' sea border, a news report said. Yonhap news agency quoted a Defense Ministry official as saying that the incident took place at about 6:30 a.m.
South Korea's Lee urges quick ratification of stalled US-South Korean free trade dealJune 17th, 2009 Lee and Obama discuss free trade dealWASHINGTON — South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is urging representatives of top U.S. companies to push for quick ratification of a stalled U.S.-South Korean free trade deal.
Obama says NKorea can find way to live in peace by helping to denuclearize Korean peninsulaJune 16th, 2009 Obama offers NKorea incentive to abandon nukesWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says there is an avenue for peace for North Korea if Pyongyang works with other nations around the world to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. Joining South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak at a White House news conference, Obama said that the current nuclear activities in North Korea present a "grave threat" to the peninsula and to the world.
Former Sudanese president known for imposing Islamic law dies at age of 79May 30th, 2009 Ex-Sudanese president who imposed Islamic law diesKHARTOUM, Sudan — A former Sudanese president known for imposing Islamic law in the country died Saturday at the age of 79, the official news agency said. Gaafar Numeiri became Sudan's president in 1969 and held the post for 16 years despite a coup attempt by the communist left in the early 1970s.
NKorea formally decides to put detained US journalists on trialApril 24th, 2009 NKorea decides to indict detained US journalistsSEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Friday it formally decided to indict two U.S. journalists arrested on its border with China more than a month ago.
SKorean court sentences 2 activists to prison for pro-NKorea activitiesApril 21st, 2009 2 SKoreans convicted for pro-NKorea activitiesSEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean court sentenced two activists on Tuesday to at least two years in prison for engaging in pro-North Korea activities, an official said. The Seoul Central District Court convicted the men for violating the National Security Law by establishing a civic group sympathetic to North Korea and holding forums praising North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, court spokesman Kwon Tae-hyung said.
South Korea says North Korea has proposed meeting on joint industrial complexApril 17th, 2009 NKorea proposes meeting on joint factory parkSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says that North Korea has proposed a meeting on a joint factory park in the North next week. Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon told reporters Saturday that the North recently proposed a meeting to discuss the joint complex in the border town of Kaesong.
Loading ...