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With Japan¡¯s Shimane Prefecture posed to pass a proposal to designate ¡®Takeshima Day¡¯ to lay claim on Korea¡¯s Dokdo Islets, a group of Korean activists pose with a banner before traveling to the island nation in an effort to stop the Japanese provincial government¡¯s move on Tuesday./Yonhap
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Friction over the Dokdo Islets and historical distortions in Japanese textbooks were rapidly bringing Seoul and Tokyo to the brink of a diplomatic clash on Tuesday.
Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Jong-min said Seoul would respond within two or three days if Japan's Shimane provincial council on Wedensday passes a bill designating a "Takeshima Day", after the Japanese name for the Dokdo rocks. Meanwhile, Shimane Governor Sumita Nobuyoshi on Tuesday hailed the bill at a press conference.
Kim said Seoul would "clearly reveal the principles and policies guiding its relationship with Tokyo after comprehensively reviewing bilateral relations" if the bill passes. He said the Republic of Korea exercised sovereignty over Dokdo and thus had no choice but to respond strongly.
Korea would also likely demand that Japan show "a sincere attitude", he said, over the rightwing-endorsed Fusosha textbook distorting Korean history with an eye to whitewashing Japanese atrocities.
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon also told a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that Korea would take "tangible measures" to secure its sovereignty against Japanese provocations. The government plans to release Wednesday a protest statement and ease restrictions against tourism, academic research and development of the uninhabited islets in the East Sea.
A government official said Korea would urge Japan to work for a genuine solution to the issues during a meeting of the two nations' foreign ministers during the Asia Cooperation Dialogue in Pakistan in early April. He also predicted summits between the two heads of state, which are supposed to take place twice a year, could be delayed or cancelled.
Meanwhile, Uri Party floor leader Chung Sye-kyun and his opposition Grand National Party counterpart Kang Jae-sup met in the National Assembly and agreed to form a special committee to deal with Japanese textbook distortions and the Dokdo Islets issue when the assembly meets for an extraordinary session in April.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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