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Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso on Friday said President Roh Moo-hyun was making "a mistake" by linking Japan¡¯s claims to Korea¡¯s Dokdo with the island country¡¯s past colonial aggression.
"The Dokdo issue is fundamentally a matter of dominion, not a historical matter,¡± Aso told a House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee meeting. ¡°To weave our claims (to the island) together with history is a mistake, and I think it is an improper move."
The Japanese chief diplomat also took issue with the fact that the Korean president¡¯s hard-hitting address came only a day after a brittle compromise averted a possible clash at sea when Japan agreed to cancel a survey in waters near Dokdo while Korea agreed to hold off on plans to register Korean names for seafloor areas there. "There is no other way of understanding it except that Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade were simply not on the same page," Aso said.
Turning to North Korea, the minister indicated Tokyo is anxious to keep in step with the U.S. "When the U.S. intends to impose economic sanctions, it will contact us in advance," he said. ¡°Economic sanctions against the North have to be enacted with the cooperation of various countries, and we must make sure that Japan is not left out of the loop."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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