Kim recalled when talks with North Korea were at their height, in 2000, Clinton had informed him by letter that he had invited the North Korean leader to visit the United States. “But Kim Jong Il kept putting off the matter until the presidential elections in the U.S., and then everything went back to point zero,” Kim Dae-jung said.

Throughout the interview, Kim expressed his regret for North Korea’s passive attitude. “They always make an agreement, then stall before putting it into practice," he said. "Look at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the Seoul-Sinuiju railroad line. Above all, what disappoints me most is that Kim Jong Il does not come to Seoul.”

Asked about the best way to solve the North Korean nuclear crisis, Kim insisted that North Korea give up nuclear weapons first. “The solution is already apparent," he said. "North Korea must give up its nuclear weapons and accept comprehensive inspections, while the U.S. grants North Korea security guarantees.” He said that North Korea should have learned a lesson by the fall of Saddam Hussein, and that it should immediately permit Korea and Japan to participate in five-way talks.

“Persisting with its brinkmanship or cliff-edge tactics are of no use to North Korea," Kim said, repeatedly stressing that Pyongyang accept change. "Those days are gone - it is no longer the Clinton administration of 1994.”

North Korea, after smoothing over the kidnapping issues with Japan after the Pyongyang-Tokyo summit, should have followed through with other conciliatory measures, Kim Dae-jung said. "Because it failed to do so, all the good things that were accomplished at those talks were buried and Prime Minister Koizumi has since taken a hard line against Pyongyang. In a sense, North Korea’s attitude greatly influenced Japan to turn to the right and change their constitution.”

The former president asserted that no matter what Kim Jong Il says in public, the North Korean leader's paramount goal is improved relations with the United States.

Kim Dae-jung also said that economic ties with North Korea would benefit both sides. “They say that real estate speculation in our country has caused about 310 trillion [$260 billion] to be floating in the market," he said. "We should improve relations with the North and invest there.”

Asked about the special prosecution team's investigation into the secret funds sent to North Korea, allegedly in return for the 2000 summit talks, Kim said, “I still believe that this matter should not have been subject to an investigation.” Kwon Dae-yeol, dykwon@chosun.com