Former President Kim undergoes respiratory surgery

SEOUL, July 29 (Yonhap) -- Former President Kim Dae-jung, long stricken with pneumonia, underwent surgery on his bronchial tubes Wednesday afternoon as part of procedures to facilitate his breathing, hospital officials said.

Doctors at Seoul's Severance Hospital conducted the operation on the 85-year-old
Kim, who was put back on a respirator last Thursday after developing breathing
difficulties, said the officials.
"The surgery was not conducted because of any emergency condition in the patient.
Doctors chose the procedure to prepare for his prolonged dependence on artificial
respiration," said a hospital official.
"Thanks to the bronchial surgery, oxygen will now be supplied through the
patient's neck. Instead, Kim will be taken off the respirator," he said, adding
the operation was successfully completed at 4:15 p.m.
Kim, who served as president from 1998-2003, was admitted to Severance Hospital
in western Seoul on July 13 with pneumonia and put on a respirator three days
later.
In 2005, Kim was admitted to hospital after showing symptoms of a cold and fever.
Kim met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in June 2000 for the first
inter-Korean summit and won the Nobel Peace Prize later that year in recognition
of his lifelong fight for democracy and efforts to promote reconciliation on the
Korean Peninsula.