Seoul sends Japan protest letter

By Chung Min-uck

Seoul sent a letter of complaint to the Japanese foreign minister for what it sees as an absurd sovereignty claim to Dokdo, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade official said Friday.

Insiders anticipate that Tokyo will stick to its hard-line stance on territorial issues until a general election expected in October.

The letter highlights Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba’s remark about Dokdo being “illegally occupied by South Korea.”

Cho Tai-young, spokesman for the foreign ministry, said that Seoul “strongly protests the Japanese foreign minister’s remarks and strongly demands them to be withdrawn immediately and not repeated.”

The letter was delivered to Japan via the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Thursday that President Lee Myung-bak should apologize for calling for Japanese King Akihito to issue an apology to Korea.

Tokyo has been ratcheting up its challenge to Korea’s sovereignty requesting a joint International Court Justice (ICJ) resolution over the islets after President Lee visited the islets on Aug. 10.

Meanwhile, the government sent back a protest letter from the Japanese prime minister regarding the issue via registered mail. A councilor to the South Korean embassy to Tokyo, who tried to hand over the letter face-to-face, was denied entry to Japan’s foreign ministry the same day.

Gemba said during a press conference on Friday that Tokyo “isn’t planning to resend the returned letter.” Noda’s letter described Lee’s Aug. 10 visit and his remarks on the Japanese king as regrettable.