Chinese and South Koreans Formally Establish Relations

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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.

The statement said: "The Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Korea believe that the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries will be conducive to the relaxation of tension and stability on the Korean peninsula, and also to peace and stability in Asia."

South Korea hopes that Beijing will nudge the North toward a more accommodating policy, but the Chinese seemed to take a somewhat ambiguous position on that in the announcement today. A Korean Matter, China Says

The statement, which was signed by Foreign Minister Qian Qichen of China and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Sang Ock, said that Beijing respected the desire of the Korean people for quick reunification through peaceful means and supported their efforts to reach that goal. But it added that they must reach that goal "by themselves."

In Seoul, the South Korean capital, President Roh was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying: "The normalization of ties between our two countries marks a significant turning point in world history in that it heralds the beginning of the end of the cold war in East Asia, which remains as the last legacy of the cold war era."

In recent years, China has adopted an increasingly pragmatic foreign policy, based largely on economic interests rather than Communist ideology. It has recognized Israel and re-established relations with Indonesia, both of which it used to denounce regularly, and relations have been warming with South Africa as well.