Former President Kim Dae-jung says he convinced former U.S. President Bill Clinton to open dialogue with Pyongyang after the 2002 inter-Korean summit.

In an interview with Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper, Kim said that during his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, he had stressed that U.S. forces should remain in South Korea even in the event of the reunification of the two Koreas. The reports quoted Kim as saying that the North Korean leader then replied that he would agree to the idea on the condition that the U.S. promise not to invade the North.

The former president also said he relayed the content of such discussions to Clinton, which led to active dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea.