Demand South Korea to Agree (Asahi Shimbun)

At 11:30 a.m. on the 25th, OKUMURA, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs invited KIM Yong-shik, Minister of the Delegation of South Korea to Japan, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and handed him a document demanding South Korea to agree to refer to the International Court of Justice regarding the dispute over territorial sovereignty over Takeshima. This is the first measure taken on the basis of the Government's decision, in a Cabinet meeting on 24th, on the principle of appealing to international opinion concerning the Takeshima dispute through referring to the International Court of Justice, since this issue cannot be resolved through direct negotiation between Japan and South Korea. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified the position of the Government of Japan in the form of an announcement by the Public Information and Cultural Affairs Bureau at noon on the same day, as follows.