Seoul dismisses protests from Tokyo over research vessel near Dokdo

Seoul dismissed protests from Tokyo over a Korean research vessel conducting marine surveys around Dokdo, the easternmost islets of Korea.

The Dokdo islets, the easternmost islets of Korea, are seen on Tuesday. [KWON HYUK-JAE]

Seoul dismissed protests from Tokyo over a Korean research vessel conducting marine surveys around Dokdo, the easternmost islets of Korea.

"Dokdo is our inherent territory, which is clear from history, geography and international law, and we cannot accept any claims by Japan to our territorial sovereignty," Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

"The government's position is that we do not accept Japan's challenge to legitimate activities carried out in accordance with international law and relevant domestic laws," the statement continued. "We have dismissed Japan's unjustified claims through diplomatic channels."

Earlier, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “a Korean maritime survey vessel conducted a survey in our exclusive economic zone [EEZ] without prior consent, which we cannot accept,” adding that “the Japanese government strongly protests this and the Korean side must immediately stop the maritime survey.”

The Japanese government also protested against the Korean government several times in June regarding the research vessel’s maritime survey around Dokdo.

Japan claims that Dokdo is its territory and an administrative district incorporated into the Shimane Prefecture in 1905 under the name “Takeshima.” The country has established its EEZ in the surrounding waters and protests when Korean research vessels conduct marine research near Dokdo.

On July 12, Seoul’s Defense Ministry summoned the Japanese embassy’s military attaché in Korea to protest Tokyo’s renewed territorial claims to Dokdo, as laid out in a Japanese defense white paper released the same day.

In the defense white paper, the Japanese government reiterated its claim to Dokdo, defining the islets as its “inherent territory” for the 20th consecutive year since 2005.

Although Korea-Japan relations have thawed with the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, continued spats surrounding Dokdo and the recent controversy over the registration of the Sado mines as a Unesco World Heritage site have somewhat soured relations.

While Japan has promised to thoroughly explain the history related to the Sado mines, where Koreans were forcibly put to labor during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea, the word “forced” has been omitted from museum exhibitions introducing the site. Critics are stating that Japan has intentionally omitted the information explaining the full nature of the mines’ history.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]