Seoul seals ties with Peking

SEOUL - China and South Korea yesterday formally established diplomatic relations in a move that South Korea's President, Roh Tae Woo, called 'the beginning of the end of the Cold War in East Asia', writes Terry McCarthy. The agreement automatically includes Seoul cutting its ties with Taiwan. It was signed in Peking by Qian Qichen, China's Foreign Minister, and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Sang Ock.

In Seoul, Taiwanese diplomats, told only on Friday of the change, lowered the flag at their embassy for the last time in a tearful ceremony. South Korea was Taiwan's last ally in Asia.