Japan proposes Dokdo resolution via Int`l Court of Justice

Japan proposes Dokdo resolution via Int`l Court of Justice. August. 18, 2012 06:25. lightee@donga.com bae2150@donga.com.

Japan on Friday suggested a resolution of its territorial dispute with Korea over the Dokdo islets through a trial at the International Court of Justice, something to which Seoul immediately rejected.

“Dokdo is without a doubt Korean territory and not subject to dispute,” the Korean government said.

Tokyo is expected to seek drumming up international support for its claim to Dokdo to make the rocky outcroppings into a disputed area. Its plan is to elevate the degree of its offensive through third-party arbitration, followed by a unilateral filing of a lawsuit with the international court.

As such, experts say Korea needs more proactive measures to effectively counter Japan’s move.

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Kemba summoned Korean Ambassador to Tokyo Shin Kak-soo Friday morning to officially propose that both sides refer the dispute to the international court. Japan made such an offer for the first time since 1954 and 1952.

Kemba said, “(If Korea rejects the request), we will file a motion to coordinate the issue in line with an official letter exchanged in 1965.”

The letter is a memorandum on dispute settlement that the two countries exchanged in the course of normalizing bilateral ties and forging the treaty on Korea’s claim for damages from Japanese colonial rule. If Seoul rejects both the joint referral of the case to the international court and third-party arbitration, Japan is expected to resort to unilateral referral of the dispute to the court.

Tokyo is also considering economic sanctions. On the bilateral currency swap treaty that will expire in October, Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said, “It is in a blank status, and we are considering (revision)."

Japanese media added that Japan has started to consider not backing Korea’s election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in October.