Japan and South Korea’s dispute over islands flares up ahead of Kishida-Yoon meeting

A South Korean opposition lawmaker has visited a long disputed rocky outcrop days before the scheduled get-together of the countries’ two leaders

An observer says timing of visit was more about ‘embarrassing’ Yoon than sovereignty of islands, which Seoul calls Dok-do and Tokyo refers to as Takeshima

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The dispute over the islands has been going on since the Korean Peninsula was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. Photo: AP

Published: 11:30am, 4 May 2023Updated: 1:39pm, 4 May 2023

Tokyo and Seoul’s row over the sovereignty of disputed islands has been reignited after a South Korean politician visited the rocky outcrop days ahead of a scheduled meeting between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Jeon Yong-gi, of the main opposition Democratic Party, on Tuesday travelled to the islands South Koreans refer to as Dok-do, located halfway between the Korean peninsula and Japan.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry delivered a formal protest by phone to the South Korean embassy in Tokyo the same day, underlining Japan’s position that the islands, which it refers to as Takeshima, are an “inherent part” of Japanese territory in light of historical facts and international law. The embassy was informed that Jeon’s visit was “unacceptable and regrettable”.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said it had “dismissed” the Japanese side’s “unfair claim” through diplomatic channels, reiterating its position that the islands – two main islands and about 30 smaller rocks, guarded by a small police detachment – are sovereign Korean territory “historically, geographically and under international law”.

South Korean politician Jeon Yong-gi’s office staff take a photo on the disputed islands. Photo: AFP

The dispute over the islands has rumbled on since the Korean peninsula was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, but one Japanese academic believes the timing of Jeon’s visit was not by chance.