Japan's Unjustified Claim to Dokdo Sovereignty for 11 Consecutive Years
On the 26th, a banner with the phrase "When interest disappears, sovereignty disappears. Republic of Korea Dokdo, protected by the people" was hung on the outer wall of Seoul Library in Jung-gu, Seoul. On this day, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will renovate the Dream Engraving Board ahead of the 76th Liberation Day. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
The government expressed its position urging Kamikawa Yoko, Japan's Foreign Minister, to "immediately retract" her repeated unfounded territorial claims over Dokdo during her regular parliamentary foreign affairs speech.
On the 30th, the government, through a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, explained, "We strongly protest the repeated unjust territorial claims over Dokdo, which is clearly our inherent territory based on historical, geographical, and international law grounds."
The government emphasized, "We reaffirm that Japan's unjust claims do not affect our sovereignty over Dokdo, which is the inherent territory of the Republic of Korea," and added, "We will firmly respond to any provocations by Japan regarding Dokdo."
Furthermore, it added, "Japan must clearly realize that repeating unjust claims over Dokdo does not help in building a future-oriented Korea-Japan relationship."
Earlier, Foreign Minister Kamikawa stated in her foreign affairs speech that Dokdo is "Japan's inherent territory both historically and under international law," and said, "Based on this fundamental position, we will respond resolutely."
Japan has been making the baseless claim that Dokdo is Japanese territory for 11 years since then-Foreign Minister Kishida Fumio's foreign affairs speech in 2014.
In particular, Foreign Minister Kamikawa also mentioned in her speech that Japan will continue "courteous discussions" regarding the UNESCO World Heritage registration of Sado Mine in Niigata Prefecture, a site of forced labor of Koreans during the Japanese colonial period.
The government responded by pointing out, "Like Japan's modern industrial facilities, it is a place with a painful history of forced labor during wartime," and stressed, "It is of utmost importance to reflect the entire history of Sado Mine when discussing its World Heritage registration."
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