ROK eyes trust with China

The Republic of Korea's top diplomat on Monday mentioned the need to establish an intelligence-sharing pact with China to enhance trust between the two neighbors.

ROK Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said during the interpellation session at the parliamentary headquarters that "it needs to review" whether the ROK-China accord on sharing military intelligence will be necessary.

Yun said that the two neighbors have been cooperating in a variety of areas, including national defense, since ROK President Park Geun-hye took office last year.

The ROK's past push for an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan was aborted in 2012 as the government's secret efforts to reach a deal with its former colonial ruler caused strong public backlash.

Touching on strained ties between Seoul and Tokyo, Yun said that it was the Japanese government led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that served as the biggest obstacle to improved relations, describing their actions and words as historical revisionism.

- Xinhua in Seoul

(China Daily 02/11/2014 page11)