ID :
197273
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 12:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/197273
The shortlink copeid
Seoul mulls banning Tokyo lawmakers from visiting island near Dokdo
(ATTN: UPDATES with possible ban on visit, quotes in first 9 paras; CHANGES headline)
SEOUL, July 26 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government is considering slapping a ban on a group of Japanese lawmakers from visiting an island near the South's easternmost islets of Dokdo, saying their safety cannot be guaranteed during local trips.
Four lawmakers of Japan's conservative opposition Liberal Democratic Party said last week they will visit Ulleung Island early next month in the East Sea, the closest they can get to Dokdo, in an attempt to lay claim on the South Korean islets.
The planned visit sparked fury from South Korea with some politicians here demanding their government bar the Japanese lawmakers from entering South Korea.
"At this stage, we focus on making diplomatic efforts to let the Japanese lawmakers voluntarily withdraw their visit," a senior official at the Foreign Ministry said.
"In case that the Japanese lawmakers visit despite our efforts, however, we are considering banning them from entering the nation by applying an immigration law," the official said on the condition of anonymity.
The government would have no choice but to enforce the ban due to concern about potential clashes with some angry civic activists, during the Japanese lawmakers' visit to South Korea, the official said.
Under the immigration law, the justice minister can prohibit people from entering the nation if they have "considerable reasons to undermine the interests of the nation or the safety of the public," according to the official.
Dokdo, which lies closer to South Korea in the 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.
Earlier in the day, Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae urged the Japanese lawmakers to cancel their planned visit.
"It will be desirable for the Japanese lawmakers to refrain from making the visit if the purpose of their visit is to raise the Dokdo issue," Cho told reporters.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan conveyed the stance to his Japanese counterpart, Takeaki Matsumoto, during their talks on the sidelines of an Asian security meeting last week, Cho said.
The Seoul government "puts all options on table and considers its responses as the situation develops," Cho said.
The diplomatic tension between Seoul and Tokyo resurfaced this month after the Japanese government took a punitive measure against Korean Air for flying a test flight over Dokdo.
In what South Korean officials described as an "unreasonable, nonsensical and ineffective" measure, Tokyo ordered its diplomats to boycott Korean Air flights for one month from July 18 in protest over the test flight of the Airbus A380 last month.
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.
SEOUL, July 26 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government is considering slapping a ban on a group of Japanese lawmakers from visiting an island near the South's easternmost islets of Dokdo, saying their safety cannot be guaranteed during local trips.
Four lawmakers of Japan's conservative opposition Liberal Democratic Party said last week they will visit Ulleung Island early next month in the East Sea, the closest they can get to Dokdo, in an attempt to lay claim on the South Korean islets.
The planned visit sparked fury from South Korea with some politicians here demanding their government bar the Japanese lawmakers from entering South Korea.
"At this stage, we focus on making diplomatic efforts to let the Japanese lawmakers voluntarily withdraw their visit," a senior official at the Foreign Ministry said.
"In case that the Japanese lawmakers visit despite our efforts, however, we are considering banning them from entering the nation by applying an immigration law," the official said on the condition of anonymity.
The government would have no choice but to enforce the ban due to concern about potential clashes with some angry civic activists, during the Japanese lawmakers' visit to South Korea, the official said.
Under the immigration law, the justice minister can prohibit people from entering the nation if they have "considerable reasons to undermine the interests of the nation or the safety of the public," according to the official.
Dokdo, which lies closer to South Korea in the 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.
Earlier in the day, Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae urged the Japanese lawmakers to cancel their planned visit.
"It will be desirable for the Japanese lawmakers to refrain from making the visit if the purpose of their visit is to raise the Dokdo issue," Cho told reporters.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan conveyed the stance to his Japanese counterpart, Takeaki Matsumoto, during their talks on the sidelines of an Asian security meeting last week, Cho said.
The Seoul government "puts all options on table and considers its responses as the situation develops," Cho said.
The diplomatic tension between Seoul and Tokyo resurfaced this month after the Japanese government took a punitive measure against Korean Air for flying a test flight over Dokdo.
In what South Korean officials described as an "unreasonable, nonsensical and ineffective" measure, Tokyo ordered its diplomats to boycott Korean Air flights for one month from July 18 in protest over the test flight of the Airbus A380 last month.
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.
