SOUTH KOREAN OPPOSITION LEADER AVOWS INNOCENCE

South Korean opposition leader Kim Dae Jung, accused of breaking his country's tough anticommunist laws, proclaimed his innocence Saturday before a crowd of 30,000, witnesses said. Mr. Kim was charged Friday with breaking the country's national security law by failing to denounce fellow politician Suh Kyung Won's illegal trip to North Korea.

Prosecutors also accuse Kim of breaching foreign exchange regulations by accepting $10,000 from Mr. Suh, which they allege was part of a handout from Pyongyang agents.

Witnesses said Kim recalled his arrests under former regimes and said persecution was starting again under President Roh Tae Woo. Kim was given a death sentence, later commuted, in 1980.