South Korea accused Chinese President Xi Jinping of distorting history in a speech he made on the Korean War, offering rare criticism of its biggest trading partner over rhetoric seen as anti-American.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Monday dismissed as inaccurate claims that China fought against "imperialist invaders” during the 1950-1953 Korean War.
"The international debate on this has already been terminated,” Kang said in testimony to parliament, adding the war was started by North Korea, an ally of the Soviet Union and China, when it invaded South Korea.