Dokdo receives location indicator from world aviation agency

By Kim Boram

SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government said Tuesday that its eastern islets of Dokdo officially received an international communication code from the world aviation body.

The transportation ministry said Dokdo's helicopter station was given the
location indicator "RKDD" by the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO), to be used by planes and helicopters of ICAO member states from this
month.
"This indicator does not back the sovereignty issue that Dokdo is our territory,
but it means that we manage the Dokdo islets under the territorial air of South
Korea," said Hwang Soon-hwa, director of the aviation facilities team at the
Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
Dokdo lies in the middle of the East Sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
South Korea has stationed patrols on Dokdo for over 50 years as a symbol of
Seoul's sovereignty over the islands, dismissing Japan's decades-old claim that
Korea's sovereignty is disputable.
Japan's latest provocation disputing South Korea's sovereignty over Korea -- a
teachers' manual published by its education ministry suggesting Dokdo belongs to
Japan -- raised fierce protests in South Korea.
ICAO grants four-letter English codes to airports and helicopter bases to
indicate the location of air stations and to help foreign civil and military
planes communicate with control centers of the stations. The indicators are
published every three months, according to Hwang.
In Dokdo's indicator, the letter "R" means Asia, "K" stands for Korea, and "DD"
indicates Dokdo, according to the ministry.
South Korea uses the letters "RKSI" for the Incheon international airport, and
"RKPC" for the Jeju international airport.