S.Korea Decides to Recall Ambassador to Japan

South Korea decided Monday to temporarily recall its ambassador to Japan in an apparent protest against Japanese textbooks distorting Japan's wartime history.

Under the decision, South Korean ambassador to Japan Choi Sang- yong will return home Tuesday, said South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Yim Sung-joon.

"We cannot confirm now how long Choi will stay in Seoul but it is apparent that he will go back to work after getting the instructions for the revision of the textbooks," said the deputy minister.

The South Korean-Japanese ties have been soured due to the Japanese government's approval last week of middle school history textbooks that distort or gloss over the Japanese atrocities at wartime last century.

Last week, South Korea issued a statement condemning the Japanese government's approval of the distorting history books and summoned Japanese ambassador to South Korea, urging Japan to respect history for the sake of the South Korean-Japanese partnership oriented toward the 21st century.






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