Japan is considering pulling South Korea before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the dispute over a group of islands in the Sea of Japan.We need to consider ways to resolve this dispute by peaceful means, go to international law - including a lawsuit to the ICC, said Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro GEMBA on Saturday.
The rocky volcanic islands - known as Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japan, has for decades been a sore point for the two countries, which both claim the region. But the diplomatic battle has quickly escalated. The move came days after the South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak unexpectedly completed a visit to one of the disputed islands.
According GEMBA, the Japanese Government waited with a lawsuit, given the impact it would have on countries' strained relationship.
- But the president's visit to the Takeshima did such considerations unnecessary. We must advance Japan's position on the international community, said GEMBA after a meeting with Ambassador Masatoshi Muto who on Friday was called back from Seoul in protest.
The infected dispute is partly about financial interests and potential natural resources in the area, but also goes back to Japan's brutal occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945.
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