ID :
197430
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 05:14
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/197430
The shortlink copeid
Lee says trip to Dokdo's mother island may not be safe for Japan lawmakers
(ATTN: UPDATES with spokesman's briefing in paras 2-7; CHANGES headline)
SEOUL (Yonhap) - President Lee Myung-bak has expressed concern that the safety of four Japanese lawmakers could be at risk if they press ahead with a trip here seen as aimed at bolstering Tokyo's claims to the South's easternmost island of Dokdo, an official said Wednesday.
Lee also instructed officials to convey such concerns to Tokyo and try to talk out the issue, presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha told reporters, denying a newspaper report that Lee ordered officials to turn the Japanese lawmakers back as soon as they arrived at an airport.
Four lawmakers of Japan's opposition Liberal Democratic Party said last week they will visit Ulleung Island near Dokdo in early August in an apparent attempt to renew its territorial claims over the islets in the East Sea between the two countries.
The planned trip sparked outrage in South Korea, with the ruling party chief and other lawmakers calling for the government to ban their entry to the country. There have also been concerns that the Japanese lawmakers could be a target of angry civic groups.
The issue was raised during the prime minister's weekly report to President Lee on Tuesday.
"The president instructed that the foreign ministry officially notify Japan's government of safety concerns and hold consultations" with Tokyo, spokesman Park said. Lee also said the issue should be handled "quietly and with diplomatic language befitting a first-class nation," Park said.
By law, South Korea can prohibit people from entering the nation if they are feared to undermine "the interests of the nation or the safety of the public." But officials said they believe the issue should be resolved through diplomacy, instead of coercive measures.
Seoul's foreign ministry has repeatedly urged the Japanese lawmakers to call off their travel plans. Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan conveyed that stance to his Japanese counterpart, Takeaki Matsumoto, during their talks on the sidelines of an Asian security meeting last week, officials said.
Japan's attempt to lay claims to Dokdo has long been a thorn in relations between the two countries. South Koreans see those claims as a sign that Japan has not fully repented for its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea has rejected Japan's claims over Dokdo as nonsense because the country regained independence from the colonial rule and reclaimed sovereignty over its territory, including Dokdo and many other islands around the Korean Peninsula.
SEOUL (Yonhap) - President Lee Myung-bak has expressed concern that the safety of four Japanese lawmakers could be at risk if they press ahead with a trip here seen as aimed at bolstering Tokyo's claims to the South's easternmost island of Dokdo, an official said Wednesday.
Lee also instructed officials to convey such concerns to Tokyo and try to talk out the issue, presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha told reporters, denying a newspaper report that Lee ordered officials to turn the Japanese lawmakers back as soon as they arrived at an airport.
Four lawmakers of Japan's opposition Liberal Democratic Party said last week they will visit Ulleung Island near Dokdo in early August in an apparent attempt to renew its territorial claims over the islets in the East Sea between the two countries.
The planned trip sparked outrage in South Korea, with the ruling party chief and other lawmakers calling for the government to ban their entry to the country. There have also been concerns that the Japanese lawmakers could be a target of angry civic groups.
The issue was raised during the prime minister's weekly report to President Lee on Tuesday.
"The president instructed that the foreign ministry officially notify Japan's government of safety concerns and hold consultations" with Tokyo, spokesman Park said. Lee also said the issue should be handled "quietly and with diplomatic language befitting a first-class nation," Park said.
By law, South Korea can prohibit people from entering the nation if they are feared to undermine "the interests of the nation or the safety of the public." But officials said they believe the issue should be resolved through diplomacy, instead of coercive measures.
Seoul's foreign ministry has repeatedly urged the Japanese lawmakers to call off their travel plans. Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan conveyed that stance to his Japanese counterpart, Takeaki Matsumoto, during their talks on the sidelines of an Asian security meeting last week, officials said.
Japan's attempt to lay claims to Dokdo has long been a thorn in relations between the two countries. South Koreans see those claims as a sign that Japan has not fully repented for its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea has rejected Japan's claims over Dokdo as nonsense because the country regained independence from the colonial rule and reclaimed sovereignty over its territory, including Dokdo and many other islands around the Korean Peninsula.
