ID :
42832
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 21:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/42832
The shortlink copeid
(2nd LD) Police officer missing while on duty on Dokdo
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more details; CHANGES lead)
SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean police officer standing guard on the
nation's easternmost islets of Dokdo went missing early Tuesday morning,
triggering a massive search operation in and around the rocky outcrops, police
said.
The officer, identified only by his family name Lee, was placed on duty at the
remote rocky islets in the East Sea early Tuesday morning but was later found to
have gone missing between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m., police said.
Dokdo consists of two main islets and 35 smaller rocks, with their total surface
area covering about 0.19 square kilometers.
The 30-year-old Lee has been in charge of communications of a South Korean police
contingent stationed on the east islet of Dokdo, they said.
Police said the search operation is focused on the seaside areas, as the
possibility of the missing officer accidently losing his footing while on duty
and falling into the sea cannot be ruled out.
Dokdo, which lies just 90 kilometers east of South Korea's Ulleung Island in the
East Sea, has frequently been the focus of international media coverage, due to
Japan's territorial claim to the rocky outcrops. The closest Japanese territory
of Oki Island in Shimane Prefecture is more than 160 kilometers away from Dokdo.
Since 1954, the South Korean government has stationed a small contingent on Dokdo
as a symbol of its ownership of the rocky islets. Currently, about 50 police
officers who belong to the Ulleung Island Security Force are stationed on Dokdo
for security purposes.
The "Dokdo Police Guard" stand guard on the islets 24 hours a day against
Japanese patrol boats and other invaders, using advanced systems and equipment to
keep in contact with South Korean Coast Guard, Navy and Air Force.
Two Korean citizens, an octopus fisherman and his wife, are the only permanent
residents of the islets, while half a dozen administrative personnel and
lighthouse staff are also rotated through non-permanent support positions on the
islets.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean police officer standing guard on the
nation's easternmost islets of Dokdo went missing early Tuesday morning,
triggering a massive search operation in and around the rocky outcrops, police
said.
The officer, identified only by his family name Lee, was placed on duty at the
remote rocky islets in the East Sea early Tuesday morning but was later found to
have gone missing between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m., police said.
Dokdo consists of two main islets and 35 smaller rocks, with their total surface
area covering about 0.19 square kilometers.
The 30-year-old Lee has been in charge of communications of a South Korean police
contingent stationed on the east islet of Dokdo, they said.
Police said the search operation is focused on the seaside areas, as the
possibility of the missing officer accidently losing his footing while on duty
and falling into the sea cannot be ruled out.
Dokdo, which lies just 90 kilometers east of South Korea's Ulleung Island in the
East Sea, has frequently been the focus of international media coverage, due to
Japan's territorial claim to the rocky outcrops. The closest Japanese territory
of Oki Island in Shimane Prefecture is more than 160 kilometers away from Dokdo.
Since 1954, the South Korean government has stationed a small contingent on Dokdo
as a symbol of its ownership of the rocky islets. Currently, about 50 police
officers who belong to the Ulleung Island Security Force are stationed on Dokdo
for security purposes.
The "Dokdo Police Guard" stand guard on the islets 24 hours a day against
Japanese patrol boats and other invaders, using advanced systems and equipment to
keep in contact with South Korean Coast Guard, Navy and Air Force.
Two Korean citizens, an octopus fisherman and his wife, are the only permanent
residents of the islets, while half a dozen administrative personnel and
lighthouse staff are also rotated through non-permanent support positions on the
islets.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
