South Korea regrets North Korea's decision to change time zone

(Baonghean.vn) - South Korean President Park Geun-hye on August 10 expressed deep regret over North Korea's recent decision to move back standard time by 30 minutes.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye talks with senior aides at a regular meeting at the Blue House on August 10. Photo: Yonhap.

Last week, North Korea announced that its clocks would be moved back half an hour starting August 15, the 70th anniversary of its liberation from Japanese colonial rule, a major holiday between the two Koreas. Currently, North and South Korea use the same time zone, established during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the peninsula.

“It is regrettable that North Korea announced a change in its standard time without prior consultation or notice,” Park said during a regular meeting with senior aides at the Blue House. Park warned that the North’s unilateral decision could deepen differences between the two countries and work against efforts for cooperation and peaceful reunification of the two Koreas.

She also urged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to reaffirm the recognition of the history of previous administrations in his upcoming speech marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. “We hope that Japan will show a mature attitude to restart its relations with neighboring countries,” including South Korea, the South Korean president said.

South Korea and Japan are close trading partners and key U.S. allies, though the two countries have long been at odds over territory and other historical disputes stemming from Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Abe’s speech on Aug. 14 will be closely watched by South Korea, China and other regional powers to see whether he will repeat his predecessors’ claims of Japan’s wartime aggression.

Thu Giang

(According to Yonhap)