Seoul, July 23: Former South Korean president and Nobel laureate Kim Dae-Jung, who is in hospital with pneumonia, was readmitted to an intensive care unit Thursday when his condition worsened, his aide said.
“President Kim was readmitted to an intensive care unit and linked to a respirator again this morning,” Choi Kyung-Hwan told AFP.
Hospital officials said Kim developed a pulmonary embolism, a blockage of the pulmonary artery or one of its branches by blood clots.
“Currently, his vital signs are returning to normal,” a spokesman for Seoul’s Severance Hospital told journalists.
Kim, who was president from 1998 until 2003, was moved to the intensive care unit for the first time on July 15. He was put on a respirator early the following day.
The 83-year-old had appeared to be recovering and doctors took him off the respirator on Sunday.
Kim, a prominent dissident during decades of military rule, pushed for reconciliation with communist North Korea while in office.
He held a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in 2000 and was awarded the Nobel peace prize later that year for his efforts.
–Agencies