Japan & Korea Argue Their Claims in 1950s Letters

Japan's Takeshima Issue Research Center has posted a large PDF file HERE, which contains the diplomatic letters exchanged between the Japanese Foreign Affairs Ministry and the South Korean Mission in Tokyo on the Takeshima/Dokdo dispute between 1952 and 1976. There are a total of 311 pages listed in date order that describe in great detail many or most of the events that happened during that time. For me, it was quite interesting to read a blow-by-blow account of the dispute during that time, even though I have only read 150 of the 311 pages so far.

Below are the page numbers for five of the 1950s letters in which Japan and Korea argued their respective historical claims on Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Dokdo). The first three letters in the exchange were written in English, but in the forth letter, the South Koreans switched to Korean, which led the Japanese to respond in Japanese in the fifth letter. If you would like to read the letters, go HERE and search for the page numbers. ( The letters are in PDF format):

• 1953 Jul 13--Japan Explains (in English) Her Claims to Liancourt Rocks (pp. 15 - 20)
• 1953 Sep 09--Korea Reponds (in English) to Japan's Claims (pp. 31 - 40
• 1954 Feb 10--Japan Responds (in English) to Korea's Claims (pp. 44 - 58
• 1954 Sep 25--Korea Responds (in Korean) to Japan's Claims (pp. 78 - 93)
• 1956 Sep 20 --Japan Responds (in Japanese) to Korea's Claims (pp. 139 - 153)

Here are the letters in which Japan suggested and Korea rejected the idea of settling the Takeshima/Dokdo dispute at the International Court of Justice:

• 1954 Sep 25--Japan Suggests Dispute Be Submitted to Int'l Court of Justice (pp. 74 - 75)
• 1954 Oct 26--Korea Rejects Japan's Suggestion to Go to Int'l Court (pp. 119 - 121)