1. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan once again laid unjustifiable claims to Dokdo in his address on foreign affairs delivered to the Japanese parliament on February 12, which clearly demonstrates that the Japanese government still fails to have remorse for Japan’s history of aggression on the Korean Peninsula during its imperial era.

2. The year 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule and the 50th anniversary of the normalization of the Republic of Korea-Japan diplomatic ties. The Government of the Republic of Korea sternly warns that the Japanese government’s repetition of such retrogressive actions at this time, when it should make efforts toward a new future in the ROK-Japan relations based on sincere remorse for its past wrongdoings, runs counter to the calls of the times for peace, stability and co-prosperity in Northeast Asia.

3. The Government of the Republic of Korea will firmly respond to any provocations by the Japanese government over Dokdo, which is an integral part of the ROK’s territory in terms of history, geography and international law. 


                   Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation