S. Korean president riles up Japan after shock visit to disputed islets
Source: Agencies |
August 11, 2012, Saturday
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SOUTH Korean President Lee Myung-bak made a surprise visit yesterday to islets at the center of a long-running territorial dispute with Japan, ignoring warnings from Tokyo that it would worsen the neighbors' already strained relations.
Lee's trip to the rocky, largely uninhabited outcroppings in fish-rich waters between the countries was the first by a South Korean president, officials in his office said. Lee also briefly visited nearby Ulleung Island, which is not part of the territorial dispute.
Lee placed his hand on a rock carving that says "South Korean territory" during the visit. He also told police officers there that the islets are "worth sacrificing lives for," according to his office.
The visit came ahead of South Korea's commemoration next Wednesday of the peninsula's independence in 1945 from 35 years of Japanese colonial rule.
South Korea stations a small contingent of police officers on the disputed islets in a show of control, but Japan maintains that the rocks are its territory. Tokyo renewed the claim last month in an annual defense report.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said yesterday the islets are "our sovereign territory."
"This is completely unacceptable," Noda said. "It is deeply regrettable."
He said Japan's ambassador to Seoul was being called back to Tokyo, the capital of Japan.
Japanese officials also called Seoul's representative in Tokyo to the Foreign Ministry to hear Japan's complaints.
Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba strongly protested the visit. "It is incomprehensible why he would make this trip at this time," Gemba said.
The outcroppings have long been a source of discord, even though the two countries are both US allies, share vibrant trade and tourism ties and are partners in diplomatic efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its long-range missile and nuclear arms programs.
Historical and territorial issues, however, plague the relationship.
Many people on the Korean Peninsula harbor deep resentment stemming from Japan's brutal colonization.
South Korea and Japan also remain at odds over what many South Koreans say is Japan's failure to properly address its past actions, including its World War II-era use of Korean women as sexual slaves for its soldiers.
Lee's trip to the rocky, largely uninhabited outcroppings in fish-rich waters between the countries was the first by a South Korean president, officials in his office said. Lee also briefly visited nearby Ulleung Island, which is not part of the territorial dispute.
Lee placed his hand on a rock carving that says "South Korean territory" during the visit. He also told police officers there that the islets are "worth sacrificing lives for," according to his office.
The visit came ahead of South Korea's commemoration next Wednesday of the peninsula's independence in 1945 from 35 years of Japanese colonial rule.
South Korea stations a small contingent of police officers on the disputed islets in a show of control, but Japan maintains that the rocks are its territory. Tokyo renewed the claim last month in an annual defense report.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said yesterday the islets are "our sovereign territory."
"This is completely unacceptable," Noda said. "It is deeply regrettable."
He said Japan's ambassador to Seoul was being called back to Tokyo, the capital of Japan.
Japanese officials also called Seoul's representative in Tokyo to the Foreign Ministry to hear Japan's complaints.
Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba strongly protested the visit. "It is incomprehensible why he would make this trip at this time," Gemba said.
The outcroppings have long been a source of discord, even though the two countries are both US allies, share vibrant trade and tourism ties and are partners in diplomatic efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its long-range missile and nuclear arms programs.
Historical and territorial issues, however, plague the relationship.
Many people on the Korean Peninsula harbor deep resentment stemming from Japan's brutal colonization.
South Korea and Japan also remain at odds over what many South Koreans say is Japan's failure to properly address its past actions, including its World War II-era use of Korean women as sexual slaves for its soldiers.
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