The South Korean Foreign Ministry on Friday protested Japan's "unjust" territorial claims over the disputed Dokdo islets and warned of a harsh response
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2020) The South Korean Foreign Ministry on Friday protested Japan's "unjust" territorial claims over the disputed Dokdo islets and warned of a harsh response.
"The government will firmly respond to Japan's outrageous claims while keeping to inform the international community of our sovereignty over Dokdo and the baselessness of Japan's claims," the ministry said, as cited by the South Korean Yonhap news agency.
According to the media outlet, the Japan Institute of International Affairs published earlier on Friday aerial charts made by the US air force in the 1950s, claimed by Tokyo to be evidence that South Korea was illegally occupying the islets.
"Dokdo is our inherent territory, historically, geographically and by international law. ... We want to make it clear that whatever attempt Japan makes cannot have an influence over our firm territorial sovereignty," the South Korean Foreign Ministry was quoted as saying by the news agency.
The Liancourt Rocks referred to as Dokdo by South Korea and Takeshima by Japan lie almost equidistant from the two states. They have been administered by Seoul since 1954, a claim Tokyo disputes. Japan has suggested that the issue should be presented to the International Court of Justice, but South Korea believes there is no dispute over the islands and considers them to be its territory historically, geographically and legally.
