A planned joint survey with Japan to check for radioactive waste levels in the East Sea does not compromise South Korea's territorial rights over Dokdo Island, a government official said Sunday.
The official, who declined to be identified, stressed the radioactive waste checks are to be conducted far from Dokdo and will not affect efforts by Seoul to designate the island as the starting point for its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the East Sea.
The remarks come a day after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed South Korea and Japan will conduct the survey, easing the long-running diplomatic standoff over the area.
The Foreign Ministry received some criticism for agreeing to go along with the research instead of rejecting any such steps outright. South Korean public sentiment towards Japan turns hostile whenever Tokyo takes steps to exert itself over the island that lies little over 200 kilometers east of the mainland.
The two sides said they will meet again to finalize details on the survey, including the timing and areas to be covered. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will also take part in the endeavor.
"The plan for the joint survey only deals with checking for radioactive waste and has been accepted because it serves public health purposes," he said. He stressed the agreement did not automatically extend to other oceanographic research in the region.
Tokyo informed Seoul in July that it will conduct a unilateral survey for possible traces of radioactive survey in waters declared by South Korea as its EEZ. Japan cited precedents, pointing out it has conducted such surveys in the past following a joint efforts by South Korea, Japan, the IAEA and Russia in the same waters. The survey was first conducted in the 1990s after concerns arose about possible contamination when it was revealed that the former Soviet Union dumped radioactive waste in the waters during the Cold War.
Seoul said that move was unacceptable and threatened to stop such efforts. It added any such measure required formal approval by Seoul.
Seoul and Tokyo faced off in the area in April when the latter said it wanted to conduct underseas research around waters near Dokdo. South Korea dispatched coast guard cutters to the area and warned it will seize any vessels that violated its standing orders.
Seoul then conducted its own hydrographic survey in the area in July, despite protests by Tokyo that claims Dokdo is part of its territory.
Seoul, Sept. 10 (Yonhap News)
East Sea radioactive waste survey with Japan not linked to Dokdo: official |
