About 20 000 Koreans and members of foreign delegations have attended the state funeral of the late South Korean President, Kim Dae-jung, in Seoul on Sunday.

Kim, who was President of South Korea until 2003, died on August 18, 2009, at the age of 83.

He made history when he was elected to the presidency in December 1997 on his fourth attempt - the first peaceful transfer of power in South Korea from a ruling to opposition party since the country was founded in 1948.

He survived several attempts on his life and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his "Sunshine" policy efforts to improve ties with Pyongyang, which included the historic summit in which he met with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Il.

Foreign envoys who paid their last respect to Kim Dae-jong included former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and former Japanese House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono,

Before the funeral, current South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met senior North Korean envoys who came to pay condolences.

Kim Dae-jung is the former South Korean President who died in 2009 after his former successor, Roh Moo-hyun (President in 2003-2008) committed suicide in May 2009 at the age of 62.