Ministry calls inclusion of Dokdo on Tokyo Olympic map 'unacceptable'

SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- The foreign ministry on Thursday called the inclusion of South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo on a map of Japan on the Tokyo Olympic website "unacceptable," warning of an "active, necessary" response.

Dokdo has appeared on the map of the route of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay despite mounting calls to revise it and concerns that the inclusion of the islets could undermine the Olympic spirit of peace free from politics.

"Obviously, Dokdo is our inherent territory historically, geographically and by international law," Choi Young-sam, spokesman of the ministry, told a regular press briefing.

"In this regard, the Japanese side having indicated Dokdo as if it were Japanese territory is unacceptable," he added.

Choi also said that in consultation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, Seoul will take an "active, necessary" response.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun called for the deletion of Dokdo from the map and called on the government to mobilize "all means," including the possible boycott of the Olympic Games, set to take place from July 23 to Aug. 8, should Japan refuse to remove it.

Dokdo has long been a recurring source of tension between the two neighbors, as Tokyo continues to lay claim to the East Sea islets in its policy papers, public statements and school textbooks.

South Korea has been in effective control of Dokdo, with a small police detachment, since its liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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