South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun Wednesday expressed concern about the revival of competition for regional hegemony in Northeast Asia in an apparent reference to the current territorial dispute with Japan and its attempts to glorify its past imperialism in Asia.

"Concerns are rising over the tendency toward a revival of a competition for hegemony in Northeast Asia," Roh said in a speech to a forum of the heads of colleges and universities from around the world.

"Scars from the imperialist era have yet to be healed and stillserve as the factor for national conflicts in Northeast Asia," he said.

The remarks came on the heels of Roh seeking a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in June to address the diplomatic row over Japan's renewed claim to South Korea's Dokdo islets and approval of school textbooks beautifying Japan's 36-year colonization of Korea from 1910.

Despite the row, Roh pledges to proceed with the planned shuttle summit diplomacy they agreed to in July last year, with each side visiting the other every six months for a casual summit meeting to discuss the nuclear problem on Korean Penesular and other issues of mutual concern.

Source: Xinhua