Lee's secretary asks U.S. to rethink East Sea name

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's national security adviser Chun Yung-woo on Wednesday asked the United States to reconsider its policy on the name of the waters between Korea and Japan when he met with his American counterpart here, a diplomatic source said.
In discussions with Tom Donilon, top aide to President Barack Obama for diplomacy and national security, Chun explained Seoul's stance on the matter and asked for the U.S. to rethink its current policy, added the source.



The U.S. recently reaffirmed that it uses the single name "Sea of Japan" to reflect Japan's position. U.S. officials cite a long-standing international practice.
Koreans, however, say the proper name of the waters is "East Sea."
South Korea is a latecomer in activities associated with the International Hydrographic Organization that set the formal names of maritime areas around the world.
Seoul has been stepping up efforts to publicize the name in the international community. Currently, 28 percent of civilian maps in the world use both East Sea and Sea of Japan concurrently, according to South Korea's government data.
Chun briefed the White House official on the "explosive sensitivity" of the issue and asked for appropriate consideration, the source said.
Chun also raised the matter in a separate meeting with Deputy Secretary of State William Burns but the U.S. officials did not agree to an imminent change in Washington's policy, the source added.
The official position of the White House and the State Department is that such names are decided by the Board on Geographic Names composed of academics and other experts.
Many Koreans are in an uproar over the U.S. stance, even questioning the intensity of the U.S.-Korea alliance itself.