ID :
195164
Fri, 07/15/2011 - 06:58
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/195164
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea weighs options against Japan over ban on Korean Air
SEOUL, July 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign ministry is ready to take "various countermeasures" against Japan unless Tokyo lifts its planned ban on diplomats' bookings with Korean Air in protest over the airline's flight last month above the Dokdo islets, officials said Friday.
The latest diplomatic tension between South Korea and Japan over Dokdo erupted this week as Japan's foreign ministry has instructed its officials to refrain from taking Korean Air flights for one month starting on Monday.
South Korea expressed "strong regret and disappointment" over the Japanese government's measure, demanding an immediate withdrawal of the planned ban. On June 16, Korean Air conducted a test flight with a new Airbus 380 jet over South Korea's easternmost islets.
"We are reviewing various countermeasures in case Japan doesn't withdraw the measures before Monday," said an official at Seoul's foreign ministry. "Currently, we are closely watching Japan's response."
It may be unwise for South Korea to take any extreme measures because the islets are in Seoul's control, the official said. However, he didn't rule out banning South Korean officials from using Japan's flagship airline.
On Thursday, South Korea's foreign ministry summoned Hideaki Mizukoshi, a diplomatic minister for political affairs at the Japanese embassy in Seoul, and lodged a protest against the potential move.
The foreign ministry also plans to deliver its stance to Shinsuke Sugiyama, the Japanese chief nuclear envoy, who is scheduled to visit Seoul on Sunday, officials said.
Dokdo, which lies closer to South Korea in the body of waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, has long been a thorn in relations between the two countries. South Korea keeps a small police detachment on the islets, effectively controlling them.
South Korea rejects Japan's claims over Dokdo as nonsense because the country regained independence from Japan's 36-year colonial rule in 1945 and reclaimed sovereignty over its territory, including Dokdo and many other islands around the Korean Peninsula.
The latest diplomatic tension between South Korea and Japan over Dokdo erupted this week as Japan's foreign ministry has instructed its officials to refrain from taking Korean Air flights for one month starting on Monday.
South Korea expressed "strong regret and disappointment" over the Japanese government's measure, demanding an immediate withdrawal of the planned ban. On June 16, Korean Air conducted a test flight with a new Airbus 380 jet over South Korea's easternmost islets.
"We are reviewing various countermeasures in case Japan doesn't withdraw the measures before Monday," said an official at Seoul's foreign ministry. "Currently, we are closely watching Japan's response."
It may be unwise for South Korea to take any extreme measures because the islets are in Seoul's control, the official said. However, he didn't rule out banning South Korean officials from using Japan's flagship airline.
On Thursday, South Korea's foreign ministry summoned Hideaki Mizukoshi, a diplomatic minister for political affairs at the Japanese embassy in Seoul, and lodged a protest against the potential move.
The foreign ministry also plans to deliver its stance to Shinsuke Sugiyama, the Japanese chief nuclear envoy, who is scheduled to visit Seoul on Sunday, officials said.
Dokdo, which lies closer to South Korea in the body of waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, has long been a thorn in relations between the two countries. South Korea keeps a small police detachment on the islets, effectively controlling them.
South Korea rejects Japan's claims over Dokdo as nonsense because the country regained independence from Japan's 36-year colonial rule in 1945 and reclaimed sovereignty over its territory, including Dokdo and many other islands around the Korean Peninsula.
