Former President Kim Dae-jung dies

SEOUL, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Kim Dae-jung, who served as South Korean president from 1998 to 2003, died Tuesday after a prolonged bout of pneumonia, Yonhap news agency said. He was 85.

Kim, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a strong democracy advocate who had vigorously opposed South Korea's authoritarian leaders, died at Seoul's Severance Hospital, where he was admitted July 13, the news agency said. He had surgery last month to ease his breathing.

Kim, who is survived by his wife and three sons, endured much suffering, including torture and multiple arrests, while promoting his pro-democracy movement.

The late president met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in June 2000, helping initiate the inter-Korean summit for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. President Barack Obama called the late president a "courageous champion of democracy and human rights."

"President Kim risked his life to build and lead a political movement that played a crucial role in establishing a dynamic democratic system in the Republic of Korea," Obama said Tuesday in a statement. "His service to his country, his tireless efforts to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and his personal sacrifices on behalf of freedom are inspirational and should never be forgotten."

Kim was born to a middle-class farming family when Korea was still under Japanese colonial rule. His family moved to the nearby port city of Mokpo, where Kim completed high school.

Before entering politics, Kim worked for a Japanese-owned shipping company and later operated his own shipping business, Yonhap said.

South Korea may postpone its first space rocket launch to honor Kim's memory. The launch, scheduled for Wednesday, is intended to carry a satellite into orbit.