Discussion for article #243088
A brave, principled man, politician and leader. Why is it not surprising that I learned more about him from this article than I ever did during his entire adult life? Delayed kudos also to President Carter for his efforts to preserve and promote peace wherever it is threatened.
He led South Korea in 1994 when the Clinton administration was considering attacking Nyongbyon — home to North Korea’s nuclear complex — north of communist North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang. Kim lobbied against the idea, fearing a possible war.
A U.S. aircraft carrier and a cruiser had been deployed near South Korea’s east coast in preparation for a possible airstrike, and the United States planned to evacuate Americans, including its soldiers and their families, Kim said in a memoir.
A U.S. airstrike “will immediately prompt North Korea to open fire against major South Korean cities from the border,” Kim said his memoir, describing his dawn telephone conversation with President Bill Clinton in June 1994.
Who counseled President Clinton in this narrowly avoided deadly misadventure? I hope they are not still counseling others in crisis management.
Talk about obscure! The story is probably very important (to some, and to history), but it his highly unfamiliar territory.