North Korea Slams Japan for Its Territorial Claim to Dokdo

SEOUL (Yonhap) - North Korea on Sept. 4 lambasted Japan for describing Dokdo, a set of rocky islets of the South in the East Sea, as its territory in its updated defense white paper, saying Japan is trying to reinvade the Korean Peninsula by making a stronghold in the "disputed" islets.

The North's official Web site, Uriminzokkiri, which means
"by-our-nation-itself," said Korean people can never tolerate the
provocative act by Japan, adding that Dokdo clearly belongs to Korea
historically, geographically, and by international law.

The report came in response to Japan's latest published defense white paper,
which says the dispute over Dokdo's ownership between South Korea and Japan
remains unsettled.

The South's government summoned two officials at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to
deliver its protest message.

But the North, which has sided with the South in claiming that Dokdo belongs to
Korean territory, criticized Seoul's reaction as "passive." Seoul's
stance of calm countermeasures and differentiating Dokdo from other South
Korean-Japan relations is "tantamount to treason to the whole Korean
nation," said the commentary.

Japan grabbed Dokdo in 1905 after its victory in war with Russia, and before
colonizing the Korean Peninsula five years later. Korea was liberated in 1945,
and was divided soon after by the U.S. and the then USSR.