hankyoreh

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun on Sunday expressed regrets to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao over Beijing's history research program that claims part of Korea's ancient history as its own.

The Korean leader made the remarks at meeting with Wen on the sidelines of the sixth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in the Finnish capital, a spokesman for the presidential office said.

"Roh told the premier that even if it is a academic endeavor, the research could have negative repercussions on bilateral relations," the Cheong Wa Dae official said.

He added that the president told the premier that Beijing needed to abide by its previous agreement on this issue. Seoul and Beijing agreed verbally to avoid the ancient history matter in 2004, after Chinese scholars claimed the Koguryo kingdom (37 B.C.-A.D 668) was part of Chinese history. A public uproar erupted recently in South Korea when it was announced that a Beijing-funded research conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences argued that Korea's Balhae kingdom (699-926) was a vassal state of China. Balhae is seen as a successor state to Koguryo and part of Korean history.

Roh and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade received flak for taking a low-key approach in dealing with the sensitive issue.

Both the ruling and opposition parties urged the government to take a firm stand.

Wen told Roh his government respected the past agreement on this issue and that Beijing will take steps to prevent the history controversy from adversely affecting bilateral relations, the presidential spokesman said.

The two leaders said the North Korean nuclear issue must be resolved in a peaceful manner that does not destabilize the Korean Peninsula, he said.

They also called for the resumption of the six-party talks, aimed at diffusing the standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, and for implementation of the accord signed Sept. 19 last year to push for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, according to the spokesman.

In addition, Wen said his government supports South Korea's engagement policy towards Pyongyang and that Beijing supplies North Korea with food and fuel, the spokesman said.

Roh and Wen said they welcomed their countries' close cooperative relationship that has developed over the years, and the Chinese official welcomed the planned visit by Roh to China in October, he said.

Helsinki, Sept. 10 (Yonhap News)