South Korea calls for stability across Taiwan Strait

South Korea called Thursday for stability across the Taiwan Strait as tensions rose due to Taiwan's scrapping of a committee responsible for unification with rival China.

Photo: South Korea calls for stability across Taiwan Strait

"We do not want the region's situation to be negatively affected by one side unilaterally altering the status quo in the cross-Taiwan Strait relations," South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said during his weekly press briefing, calling for dialogue to ease tensions.

"Our government has consistently supported a one-China policy," he said.

Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian angered Beijing earlier this week with his decision to scrap an agency dedicated to uniting his self-governing island with mainland China, saying it was up to the Taiwanese people to choose their island's future status.

Taiwan and China have been ruled separately since the Communists won a civil war and took over the mainland in 1949.

South Korea and Taiwan were close allies before their diplomatic relations were cut off after Seoul formally recognized China in 1992, reports the AP.

I.L.