By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
Cheong Wa Dae indicated Wednesday that it will protest a U.S. geographical agency's decision to drop its listing of South Korea's sovereignty over the Dokdo islets during a summit between President Lee Myung-bak and George W. Bush in Seoul in early August.
``We cannot rule out that the issue of a change in the Board on Geographic Names' (BGN) position over Dokdo will be included in a summit agenda,'' a presidential spokesman said. ``Working-level officials from the two countries are currently discussing topics that will be dealt with during the summit. Dokdo is one of them.''
The U.S. government said the re-labeling of Dokdo as ``undesignated sovereignty'' by the BGN doesn't represent a change in U.S. policy over the rocky islets, but many South Koreans suspect the United States is siding with Japan.
Some observers caution that the issue may fuel anti-American sentiment here ahead of Bush's visit to Seoul. The U.S. President is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Aug. 5 for talks with Lee on his way to Beijing.
``The bottom line is Seoul's alliance with Washington should not be hurt by the Dokdo issue. In that regard, the United States should respect Korea's territorial rights over Dokdo and pay attention to geopolitical instability caused by Japan in Northeast Asia,'' said Kim Young-gu, head of the Ryeo Hae Institute, a Busan-based think tank.
Kim didn't rule out the possibility that Dokdo may cause a split in the alliance between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo in dealing with North Korea's nuclear program.
Cheong Wa Dae officials said Seoul and Washington will fix the summit agenda this week. Some presidential advisors maintained Seoul should refrain from raising the Dokdo issue as it can help Japan turn the islets into the site of a territorial dispute.
``There are some skeptical voices in Cheong Wa Dae about including Dokdo in the summit topics. However, most agree on the need to raise awareness in the United States of Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo,'' a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
Park Hee-tae, chairman of the governing Grand National Party (GNP), said Lee should address the Dokdo issue at his meeting with Bush.
``At the moment, Dokdo is the country's biggest concern,'' Park said in a radio program. ``If it cannot be an official topic, the leaders should talk about it unofficially. In any way, the issue should be handled at the summit.''
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo visited Dokdo, becoming the first South Korean prime minister to set foot on the easternmost islets. He set up a monument saying ``Dokdo is our territory.''
Japan's chief government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura called the trip ``inappropriate'' and urged Seoul to stop raising tension, according to Japan's Kyodo News.
``Machimura's response to Han's trip to Dokdo isn't worth a comment,'' said Kim Wang-ki, chief spokesman of the Office of the Prime Minister. ``Dokdo is South Korea's territory, so the prime minister can go there any time. It is inappropriate for Japan to talk about the trip.''
Political parties criticized Japan in unison.
``Japan is trying to interfere in Korea's internal affairs. We should deal sternly with Machimura's rudeness,'' the GNP said in a statement. ``We don't mind where the Japanese prime minister goes in Japan. Why is Japan interested in the places the South Korean prime minister goes in Korea?''