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A government official said Tuesday that there was a high possibility that members of a Japanese extreme right wing group may try to reach the Dokdo Islets by use of a small boat and occupy them on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The official said Kagawa Prefecture's Shikoku Shimbun reported Sunday that member of a Japanese right wing group called the "Nihon Shidokai," which claims the Dokdo Islets are Japanese territory, would sail for the islets Tuesday. He said the Korean government had been alerted by the Japanese government and is currently planning countermeasures.
The officials said the weather in the area near Ulleung Island and the Dokdo Islets was not good Tuesday, and it may be that the boat the rightists were taking was delayed, but when one looks at the Japanese news reports, it appears the group will shortly attempt to occupy the islets.
The government, seeing that the group will attempt to occupy the islets following a maritime demonstration claiming that Dokdo is Japanese territory, is planning to take strong measures like seizing the group's boat if it violates Korean territorial waters.
Accordingly, if the vessel enters our territorial waters from the high seas, the coast guard will broadcast one warning, and if the vessel ignores repeated warnings, it will be seized. The Ulleung Dokdo Coast Guard (UDCG), too, is at high alert and has deployed to strategic spots in preparation for a potential incident.
(Lee Ha-weon, may2@chosun.com )
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