SKorea will never abandon disputed isles Roh

SEOUL, Apr 25: South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said today his country would never abandon islands at the centre of a territorial fight with Japan and would deal sternly with Tokyo's claims.

Roh said in a televised address to the nation that he saw Japan's claim to the islands as being steeped in the troubled history originating from Japan's colonial rule of the Korean peninsula in the first half of the 20th century.

Seoul and Tokyo struck a deal on Saturday to avoid a possible high-seas showdown over the desolate isles claimed by both countries that are called Tokto in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese.

Reuters