A major atlas by a French publisher newly lists the body of water separating Korea and Japan as both "East Sea" and "Sea of Japan." Lee Jin-myoung at Université de Lyon said Tuesday the 2012 edition of Le Grand Atlas uses both "Mer de l'Est" and "Mer du Japon."

Le Grand Atlas is 407 pages long and considered to be one of the world's top two atlases along with National Geographic's Atlas of the World. National Geographic already uses both designations. Other French publishers including Éditions Larousse and Michelin also use both names.

/Yonhap

The International Hydrographic Organization in April failed to reach a decision on whether to officially recognize the body of water as the "East Sea" and chose to revisit the issue in five years.

Le Grand Atlas also uses both "Dokdo" and "Takeshima" to refer to Korea's easternmost islets. A footnote says that Korea has administered the islets since 1954 and that Japan has been claiming sovereignty over them.