ID :
201130
Sun, 08/14/2011 - 07:04
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/201130
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea blasts U.S. support of Japanese name for East Sea
SEUUL (Yonhap) - North Korea blasted the United States on Sunday for using Tokyo's name for the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan instead of Seoul's preferred appellation.
South Korea has recently stepped up its campaign to have the international community recognize the waters as the East Sea, following revelations that the U.S. advised the International Hydrographic Organization to keep the name "Sea of Japan."
Koreans argue that both names should be used concurrently for now, as the name Sea of Japan was unfairly established during Tokyo's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
In a commentary carried by the North's official website, Uriminzokkiri, North Korea said the U.S. position is "a heinous act that evokes national anger" and encourages "Japan's distortions of history and reinvasion scheme." Use of the Japanese name also amounts to recognizing Tokyo's ongoing claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, which lie in the same waters, the commentary said.
The communist state also accused the South Korean government of considering the issue a low-priority matter, saying it was "not standing up for itself and keeping a humiliating stance."
The South Korean government has vowed to pursue wider international recognition of its preferred name, the "East Sea," but rejected any attempts by Tokyo to turn the Dokdo issue into a territorial dispute.
South Korea has recently stepped up its campaign to have the international community recognize the waters as the East Sea, following revelations that the U.S. advised the International Hydrographic Organization to keep the name "Sea of Japan."
Koreans argue that both names should be used concurrently for now, as the name Sea of Japan was unfairly established during Tokyo's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
In a commentary carried by the North's official website, Uriminzokkiri, North Korea said the U.S. position is "a heinous act that evokes national anger" and encourages "Japan's distortions of history and reinvasion scheme." Use of the Japanese name also amounts to recognizing Tokyo's ongoing claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, which lie in the same waters, the commentary said.
The communist state also accused the South Korean government of considering the issue a low-priority matter, saying it was "not standing up for itself and keeping a humiliating stance."
The South Korean government has vowed to pursue wider international recognition of its preferred name, the "East Sea," but rejected any attempts by Tokyo to turn the Dokdo issue into a territorial dispute.
