Chinese and South Koreans Formally Establish Relations

China and South Korea formally established diplomatic relations this morning, and Beijing announced that the South Korean President, Roh Tae Woo, would make an official visit "in the near future."

A joint statement, signed at a ceremony here and broadcast live on Chinese television, ended four decades of official hostility based on ideological rivalry and bitter memories of the Korean War of 1950-53. China took hundreds of thousands of casualties in joining North Korean troops in that war against American-led United Nations forces. The Chinese have remained one of North Korea's closest allies.

The statement today called for an exchange of ambassadors, and it requires South Korea to break diplomatic relations with the Chinese Nationalist authorities on Taiwan. Beijing will continue to recognize North Korea and could play a role as an intermediary between the two rival Governments on the Korean peninsula.

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