SOUTH KOREA: South Koreans hold protest rally over island dispute with Japan, burning photographs of Japanese officials

Record ID: 464045

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: South Koreans hold protest rally over island dispute with Japan, burning photographs of Japanese officials
  • Date: 26th July 2011
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JULY 25, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS BURNING PHOTOGRAPHS OF JAPANESE LAWMAKERS AND RIOT POLICE PUTTING OFF FLAMES PROTESTERS BURNING BANNERS AND CHANTING SLOGANS AMID HEAVY POLICE PRESENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) PROTEST LEADER BONG TAE-HONG SAYING: "Japanese lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party claim Dokdo Islands as their territory and plan to visit Ulleung Island. It is shameless that they are trying to trample down our pride and ignore its neighbouring country's good will, so we are here to denounce it." MORE OF RALLY VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS WAVING FISTS AND CHANTING SLOGANS.
  • Embargoed: 10th August 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Korea, Republic of
  • Country: South Korea
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8VGDE1L2XU9S0BJRK6JV9GPGE
  • Story Text: Demonstrators in Seoul protested in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Monday (July 25) after Japanese politicians said they were planning to visit an island near disputed islets claimed by both countries.
    The protesters burned the photographs of four lawmakers who said they were going to visit the island of Ulleung about 87km (54 miles) northeast of the disputed islands, in order to bring more awareness to the territorial issues.
    Chanting slogans and waving their fists, hundreds of protesters expressed their anger.
    "Japanese lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party claim Dokdo Islands as their territory and plan to visit Ulleung Island. It is shameless that they are trying to trample down our pride and ignore its neighbouring country's good will, so we are here to denounce it," said protest leader Bong Tae-hong.
    The waters surrounding the disputed islands, called Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese, are rich in marine life and popular with squid fishermen. The seabed is believed to hold deposits of natural gas hydrate worth billions of dollars.
    The islands, located about the same distance from the mainlands of both the countries, are a thorny issue in ties between the two neighbours.
    South Korea controls the islands with police presence.
    Earlier, Tokyo told its diplomats to boycott Korean Air following the airline's highly publicised test flight over the disputed territory.
    Korean Air declined to comment on Japan's boycott, but said officials from the Japanese embassy in Seoul visited its offices to discuss the issue.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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