LOC10:28
07:28 GMT
TOKYO, Aug 23 (KUNA) -- Japan's top government spokesman said Thursday that
Seoul's decision to send back a letter Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda
wrote to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is unthinkable with respect to
diplomatic protocol.
"Under normal circumstances, it is inconceivable in terms of diplomatic
protocol to send back a letter from one nation's leader to another nation's
counterpart," Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a press conference,
one day after the South Korean government said it plans to return Noda's
letter. But Fujimura said Japan has yet to receive formal notification from
the South Korean government on the decision to return the letter.
The premier sent the letter to Lee last Friday, in which he expressed
regret over an unprecedented visit by Lee on August 10 to a group of disputed
islets and his remarks that Japan's Emperor Akihito should apologize for the
nation's 1910-45 colonial rule if he wishes to visit South Korea. The islets
lying in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) are called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo
in South Korea.
According to the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency, South Korea is set to send
back, Thursday, the protest letter. Diplomatic relations have quickly soured
since Lee's visit to the islets.
The rocky islets, which consist of two small islands and numerous reefs,
are controlled by Seoul but also claimed by Tokyo. Since 1954, the South
Korean Coast Guard has stationed a contingent on the islets, which cover a
total area of 210,000 square meters and are located around halfway between the
Korean Peninsula and Japan.
On Tuesday, Japan's government also made a formal proposal to South Korea
that the two countries should jointly take the issue of the islands to the
International Court of Justice, but South Korea immediately rejected the
offer, saying it is "not worth consideration."(end)
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KUNA 231028 Aug 12NNNN