By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The government will ask the Chinese government to rectify the description of South Korea's Ieodo Islet as Chinese on a Web site of a state agency of China, a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Friday.
The Web site states that the islet is China's, arguing it lies within China' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The site also referred to the islet as ``Suyan Rock'' in Chinese.
``South Korea and China agreed in 2006 that the Ieodo Islet is a submerged rock, not an island, so that it would not be subject to a territorial dispute,'' the official told reporters, asking not to be named.
``The Internet site referring to Ieodo as Chinese territory is against the agreement. So, we will take necessary measures to rectify the territorial claim, including demanding the Chinese foreign ministry correct the record,'' he said.
He dismissed the claim that Ieodo is in China's EEZ.
``Ieodo is located 81 nautical miles southwest of our island of Marado, and 147 nautical miles northeast of China. There is no doubt that Ieodo is in our EEZ,'' the official added.
Seoul and Beijing have held more than 10 rounds of negotiations over the establishment of the EEZ for the past decade, but failed to reach a compromise.
South Korea wants to set up the EEZ in the middle of the two countries, while China claims the EEZ should be established based on the length of the coastline and size of the population.
South Korea set up an ocean research station on Ieodo in 2003.