YONHAP NEWS

(LEAD) Japan's criticism of PM's Dokdo visit not worth response: official

   By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, July 30 (Yonhap) -- Japan's critical remark on the South Korean prime minister's earlier visit to the Dokdo islets is not even worth a response, the premier's office said Wednesday, opting to keep mum on the issue officially.

   Prime Minister Han Seung-soo paid a surprise visit to the South Korean Dokdo islets on Tuesday, as part of Seoul's intensifying efforts to denounce Tokyo's renewed claim to the desolate islands in the East Sea.

   The Japanese government immediately condemned the move as "inappropriate," criticizing the South Korean premier for triggering further tension and endangering Seoul-Tokyo ties.

   "Japan's remark is not even worth an official comment," said Kim Wang-ki, a spokesman for the prime minister. "There cannot be a controversy over the prime minister visiting his country's territory."
Han's trip came amid escalating public anger here with citizens launching protests outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul and the government recalling its ambassador to Japan for an indefinite period until the row subsides.

   In an apparent bid to draw international attention to the longtime tussle between the two neighboring countries, Japan identified Dokdo as "disputed land" in its educational handbook for teachers, implying that the islets are part of its territory.

   Calling the desolate islets "the son of South Korea," Prime Minister Han vowed tougher action to defend Korean sovereignty.

   Political parties, meanwhile, criticized the Japanese government for "interfering in another country's state affairs."
"Have we ever made an issue out of the Japanese prime minister visiting any part of his country's land?" claimed governing Grand National Party spokesman Yoon Sang-hyun. "Japan should be ashamed of making such a reckless comment."
The main opposition Democratic Party called on the government to make a "relevant action" to Japan's provocation.

   "There should certainly be limits to our tolerance," said the party's chairman Chung Sye-kyun. "Enhanced ties can only come after Japan completely abandons its ambition to take over Dokdo."
Previously, the Korean government rarely voiced strong criticism when Tokyo's claims to Dokdo surfaced, believing that the longer Seoul quietly controls the islets, the better the country's case would be if the issue were ever raised in international courts.

   The escalating Seoul-Tokyo conflict took a new turn last week when the U.S. Board on Geographic Names turned neutral on the issue by defining Dokdo as an area of "undesignated sovereignty." It had previously said that the Liancourt Rocks, another name for Dokdo, belonged to Seoul.

   President Lee Myung-bak may raise the issue and request Washington to validate Seoul's Dokdo ownership during next week's summit talks with his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush, the presidential office said earlier in the day.

   Japan has long attempted to claim sovereignty over the islets, citing its unilateral declaration of ownership a century ago following its victory in a war with Russia. South Korea has stationed police contingents on the islets for five decades to enforce its ownership.

   hayney@yna.co.kr
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