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Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday called ¡°shocking¡± a leaked Japanese Foreign Ministry report that says President Roh Moo-hyun is unlikely to take a softer line on Japan while he remains in office for fear of damaging his approval ratings. The Foreign Ministry protested at what was allegedly a classified internal report, calling it ¡°a severe distortion of the efforts made by Seoul to improve the Korea-Japan relationship.¡± Cheong Wa Dae deputy spokesman Choi In-ho said the matter ¡°was discussed in a serious atmosphere.¡±
The document made public Wednesday says the Roh Moo-hyun administration¡¯s ¡°ploy¡± is to set up straw men in every sector ¡°and persuade the public to believe that its cause is just by taking advantage of its confrontation¡± with these straw men. "The administration encourages nationalism by capitalizing¡± on Japanese claims to Korea¡¯s Dokdo islets. "President Roh will stick to his anti-Japanese hardline policy in his remaining years in office to prevent his approval ratings from declining,¡± the document says.
Homing in on the Dokdo controversy, the document classifies a flyover by Air Force Chief of General Staff and visits to the remote islets by Cabinet members and lawmakers as ¡°violent protest activities¡± whose purpose is to ¡°agitate the public¡± against a series of Japanese feints in the direction of claiming Dokdo for Tokyo. The Korean government thus stands to gain ¡°by encouraging nationalism and maintaining the status quo in the damaged relationship between Japan and South Korea,¡± the document said.
The memo expresses uncertainty what kind of government the next presidential elections in two years will produce. It bemoans that Korean officials ¡°once had a sense of urgency¡± as the bilateral relationship deteriorated, ¡°but it seems that they have lost their will to resist Cheong Wa Dae's hardline posture.¡±
The government on Wednesday called in a minister at the Japanese Embassy, Masatoshi Muto, to register an official request for Tokyo to hand over a copy of the report ? a rare diplomatic practice when dealing with an internal document of another country. Insiders speculate the government could consider various symbolic measures if Tokyo fails to oblige, including recalling Ambassador to Japan Ra Jong-il. A government official said Seoul chose a ¡°cool-headed¡± approach in the latest flare-up over Dokdo -- when a Japanese Education Ministry directive said textbooks must identify the islets as Japanese territory ? ¡°but this is different.¡±
Some government officials draw attention to the puzzle why a report criticizing President Roh and stirring up more Dokdo trouble was leaked. They say the leak aims to fuel anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea and vice versa and is thus another step in a long-term Japanese campaign to hoist the Dokdo issue on the global stage.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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