US Office No Longer Regards Dokdo as Korean Territory
By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
A U.S. office charged with establishing international geographic names for use by the American government says Dokdo is no longer South Korean territory.
On Sunday, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade held a meeting to discuss the latest development. Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan announced his ministry would start a taskforce to more effectively work with other nations regarding the Dokdo sovereignty issue.
Shin Gak-soo, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, will reportedly oversee the new taskforce. The group will monitor changes in ways Dokdo islets are referenced by other countries and develop possible countermeasures.
The latest change adopted by the Board on Geographic Names (BGN), in Washington, may be part of the American government's effort to stay ``neutral'' on the territorial issue involving the East Sea islets.
The U.S. State Department already noted earlier this month that the United States plans to stay on the sidelines as far as the Dokdo controversy is concerned and that this is ``an issue for the two countries'' to sort out, since the United State is an ally of both Korea as well as Japan.
The change, little noticed within the United States, concerns how the Board on Geographic Names characterizes and names various geographic locations for use by U.S. government agencies as well as the American public. The change involving the Dokdo islets took place Saturday morning. Local media described the move as part of Washington's ongoing effort to stay ``neutral'' on this hot-button issue.
Yonhap News Agency reported that until last Friday, searching for the term ``Liancourt Rocks'' on the Board's official Web site showed a listing of Dokdo as ``South Korean'' territory. The board has been using the English name Liancourt Rocks to describe the East Sea islets since 1977.
Since last Saturday, however, Liancourt Rocks have been characterized as ``undesignated sovereignty'' and are no longer described as belonging to South Korea.
Another small but noticeable change is the order of alternate names cited online by the office. Previously, the name Dokdo was at the top of the alternate-names list, placed above Japanese names Takeshima and Take-Shima. Since Saturday, the Japanese names have moved to the top of the list, above the Korean name Dokdo.
The Korean Embassy in Washington has reportedly gotten in touch with the BGN over the weekend to learn more about the latest change, according to reports. The office told the embassy that the change is part of the agency's initiative to maintain the very latest, updated data for the U.S. government.
Embassy staff told the Korean media that the U.S. office hasn't thought much about the way it had previously described Dokdo but that the agency now wants to follow the U.S. administration's stance on this territorial issue ― staying neutral, and not favoring one ally over another.
The U.S. State Department has already disclosed its policy on the Dokdo issue. Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, told reporters during a July 14 press briefing that Washington would leave it to Korea and Japan to figure it out by themselves.
According to the U.S. State Department online archive, McCormack remarked: ``it's an issue for the two countries. As I understand, it relates to a long-standing territorial dispute between the two countries.
``I think they have ― they have a history of some differences on some issues, but I think overall they have a good relationship. I think you can leave it to both South Korea and Japan to each describe that relationship. We independently have good relationships with them.''
McCormack said: ``this is not a new issue. This goes back a ways. And I think every three years or so it's an issue that comes up specifically on this territorial dispute.''