Kim Dae-jung moved out of intensive care

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- Former President Kim Dae-jung was moved out of intensive care Wednesday after showing signs of recovery from pneumonia, hospital staff said.

Kim, 85, was hospitalized with pneumonia July 13 and had been put on a respirator
as he had difficulty breathing. The respirator was removed Sunday as he showed
progress.
"Former President Kim is maintaining normal levels of blood pressure, pulse and
oxygen saturation, and he has regained energy quite much," a person on the
medical staff of Severance Hospital said.
The hospital has moved Kim to an ordinary ward, hoping it will help him feel more
stable, the staff said.
But Kim is not yet in a stage where discharge may be considered, due to his age
and kidney condition that requires regular dialysis, staff said.
Kim was president from 1998-2003. A long-time fixture in the country's opposition
circles, Kim won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his lifelong fight for
democracy and efforts to promote South Korea's reconciliation with North Korea.
He held the first inter-Korean summit that year with North Korean leader Kim
Jong-il.