By Yoo Dong-ho and Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporters

South Korea is considering joining with North Korea to address China’s continued distortions of Korean history involving the ancient kingdom of Koguryo, vice Unification Minister Rhee Bong-jo said Friday.

``As inter-Korean cooperation on China’s misrepresentation of Korean history has gained momentum through various civilian exchanges, we will seek diversified measures after working-level consultations with the North,’’ Rhee said during a press conference.

``In accordance with the historians’ consensus on the need to preserve and restore Koguryo’s cultural relics, such as mural paintings and burial mounds, we hope to provide financial and technical assistance to the North.’’

Rhee’s remark came a day after China removed all accounts of pre-1948 Korean history, including the history of Koguryo, one of three ancient kingdoms, from the Web site of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Koguryo, which controlled the northern part of the Korean peninsula and much of what is Saturday’s Manchuria, China, from 37 B.C. to A.D. 668, has been a bone of contention between South Korea and China in recent months.

After presiding over a 90-minute meeting of related ministries to discuss countermeasures, Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck said the Seoul government is concerned that China may employ other methods, such as distorting history in textbooks, to advance its argument that Koguryo is part of Chinese history.

Major items discussed at the meeting included the possibility of joint steps with North Korea, actions to be taken in academic exchanges with China, the organizing of international academic conferences on Koguryo, and the correction of information concerning Koguryo on well-known foreign Internet sites, Lee said.

The Chinese government, having received strong protests from the South Korean government concerning distortions of Koguryo’s history, made the decision on Monday, informing the Korean government through diplomatic channels.

China’s move comes as a major embarrassment to Seoul, which has been demanding Beijing restore references to Koguryo removed from the introduction to Korean history on the Web site in question in April.

China also came under fire for delaying the issuance of visas to South Korean lawmakers who were planning to visit historical Koguryo sites around the city of Ji’an in Jilin Province, China, on a fact-finding mission.

Ten lawmakers of the main opposition Grand National Party were unable to leave for China on Friday as scheduled because the Chinese embassy had still not issued entry visas some two weeks after the submission of applications.

On its Web site, the Chinese embassy here indicates that visas can be obtained in three to four days.

There has been diplomatic friction between the two nations on the history of Koguryo since last year when Chinese academics as well as government bodies began asserting that Koguryo was a provincial administrative area under Chinese rule.

Still, it remains to be seen whether Pyongyang, an ideological ally of China, will collaborate with South Korea, following the recent setback in relations after the mass defection of North Koreans from Vietnam.

By sticking to its low-key stance, North Korea indirectly declined to present a united front against China’s historical distortions during the inter-Korean Cabinet-level talks held early this year.

saltwall@koreatimes.co.kr

yoodh@koreatimes.co.kr