Kim Jong-Pil voices concern over Japanese history textbook

Kim Jong-Pil, honorary chairman of the United Liberal Democrats (ULD), coalition partner of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), delivered the Korean government`s concern over distortions of history in a new Japanese history textbook during a meeting in Tokyo Thursday with Japan`s Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.

``I expect that the textbook issue will not adversely affect the friendship and cooperative relationship between Korea and Japan that has been growing closer over the past year,`` he said.

Meanwhile, Mori told Kim during the meeting that Korean would be adopted as an optional subject on Japan`s university entrance examination beginning next year. Korean would become the fifth foreign language to be included on the examination along with English, French, German and Chinese.