Seoul, Tokyo lock horns on sea name

Seoul - South Korea is set to make waves at an international forum over the name of waters separating it from former colonial ruler Japan, officials said on Monday.

Seoul will send a 12-member delegation to the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) meeting to campaign for "East Sea" rather than "Sea of Japan", the foreign ministry said.

The IHO session in Monaco from May 7-11 will discuss updating global charts which at present refer only to the Sea of Japan. Seoul wants updated charts at least to include the name East Sea as well as the Sea of Japan.

"We will actively frustrate the sole use of Sea of Japan," a foreign ministry official handling the issue told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"The government's position is that both references - East Sea and Sea of Japan - should be written in parallel until an agreement is reached."

The sea's name is one of several longstanding disputes between the two nations.

Japan colonised Korea from 1910 until its 1945 defeat in World War II and during this time, the name "Sea of Japan" was widely used internationally.

Korea says the name "East Sea" goes back centuries.

The two nations also have a territorial dispute over a chain of rocky islets in the waters, called Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan. - Sapa-AFP