South Korean President Suggests Renaming Sea to Help Improve Relations with Japan
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has proposed calling the waters between his country and Japan the "Sea of Friendship" in an effort to end a naming dispute. The presidential office confirmed Monday that Mr. Roh informally proposed the name-change during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in November.
Officials said the president also suggested calling the waters the "Sea of Peace." South Korea has long protested the use of the name "Sea of Japan" and calls the waters the "East Sea." The name dispute is one of many issues straining relations between Japan and South Korea. They also contest each others' claim to a chain of islands called "Dokdo" in Korean and "Takeshima" in Japanese.
韓國總統(tǒng)盧武鉉建議把韓國和日本之間的水域稱為“友誼?！保越Y(jié)束有關(guān)這片水域名稱的爭議。韓國總統(tǒng)府星期一證實(shí)，盧武鉉總統(tǒng)在11月會(huì)見日本首相安倍晉三時(shí)非正式地提出了這一建議。
有關(guān)官員說，盧武鉉總統(tǒng)還建議可把這一水域稱為“和平?！薄ｍn國長期以來一直*把這一水域稱為“日本?！保Q之為“東?！薄@這一水域稱呼的爭議是使日本和韓國關(guān)系緊張的眾多原因之一。這兩個(gè)國家還在一系列島嶼的主權(quán)問題上有爭議。韓國把這些島嶼稱為“獨(dú)島”，日本則將其稱為“竹島”。
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has proposed calling the waters between his country and Japan the "Sea of Friendship" in an effort to end a naming dispute. The presidential office confirmed Monday that Mr. Roh informally proposed the name-change during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in November.
Officials said the president also suggested calling the waters the "Sea of Peace." South Korea has long protested the use of the name "Sea of Japan" and calls the waters the "East Sea." The name dispute is one of many issues straining relations between Japan and South Korea. They also contest each others' claim to a chain of islands called "Dokdo" in Korean and "Takeshima" in Japanese.
韓國總統(tǒng)盧武鉉建議把韓國和日本之間的水域稱為“友誼?！保越Y(jié)束有關(guān)這片水域名稱的爭議。韓國總統(tǒng)府星期一證實(shí)，盧武鉉總統(tǒng)在11月會(huì)見日本首相安倍晉三時(shí)非正式地提出了這一建議。
有關(guān)官員說，盧武鉉總統(tǒng)還建議可把這一水域稱為“和平?！薄ｍn國長期以來一直*把這一水域稱為“日本?！保Q之為“東?！薄@這一水域稱呼的爭議是使日本和韓國關(guān)系緊張的眾多原因之一。這兩個(gè)國家還在一系列島嶼的主權(quán)問題上有爭議。韓國把這些島嶼稱為“獨(dú)島”，日本則將其稱為“竹島”。