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The government has ¡°no alternative¡± but to push ahead as swiftly as possible with a project to register Korean names for areas on the seafloor surrounding Dokdo, a high-ranking Cheong Wa Dae official said Tuesday. His remarks followed a televised address by President Roh Moo-hyun about a spat with Japan over the Korean islets. The two neighbors over the weekend narrowly avoided a clash at sea when Japan agreed to cancel a hydrographic survey in waters near Dokdo while Korea consented to halt the plan to register new names for the seabed there with the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).
Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi in a press conference Monday said if Korea goes ahead with the plan, ¡°Japan would theoretically have justifiable cause to return to the area to conduct surveys." If Tokyo does retaliate, the conflict would be back where it left off last week.
Roh on Tuesday morning announced that Seoul will abandon its ¡°silent diplomacy¡± on the Dokdo issue - a strategy to ignore Japanese claims to the islets - saying, ¡°The Dokdo problem is not just about protecting our sovereignty over those small islets but about righting past wrongs in relations with Japan and establishing full sovereignty.¡± Roh said Japan, by claiming sovereignty over Dokdo, was ¡°claiming its territorial right over its former colony,¡± which was tantamount to ¡°a denial of Korea¡¯s full liberation and independence.¡± The president warned it was a problem ¡°where we can never give up or compromise, no matter what the sacrifice or cost.¡±
Meanwhile, a government official said there was ¡°always a chance¡± that Korea may move the marker that would determine where its exclusive economic zone ends from Ulleung Island to Dokdo further east. ¡°If it¡¯s considered profitable for us, we may do so,¡± the official said.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told journalists after Roh¡¯s address he would like to meet with the Korean president. ¡°I would like to deal with this issue in a calm manner on the premise of friendly relations between Korea and Japan,¡± Koizumi said. He reiterated Tokyo¡¯s standard response that it wants to view the issue ¡°in its entirety with a comprehensive and future-oriented outlook.¡± ¡°For that reason, it would be good to have a summit¡± with President Roh, he added.
But the ruling Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s floor leader in the Diet, Toranosuke Katayama, accused Roh of ¡°biased thinking¡± and added, ¡°There is talk that he is taking on the issue because his approval rating is dropping, and that is not a good thing.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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