Summit to resolve `East Sea-Sea of Japan` name row

The International Hydrographic Organization summit that opened Monday in Monaco will decide whether to use the term "East Sea" in its book "Limits of the Ocean Seas." Lasting until Friday, the event will tackle the naming issue the first day, and by early Tuesday Korean Standard Time, the results will be announced.

Over the matter that the 2007 summit had failed to conclude, Korea and Japan were once again wrangled in a fierce diplomatic struggle the first day of this year`s summit. While Japan claimed no reason to change the use of the single term "Sea of Japan," Korea said the name was decided during Japanese colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and the Korean War, and did not reflect Korea`s claims.

Due to various disputes, the revision of the IHO`s "Limits of the Ocean Seas" has been stalled since its third edition in 1953.

Member countries say the revision is being delayed due to the controversy over the terms East Sea and Sea of Japan, agreeing to Japan`s claims. Korea, however, persuaded them by saying the issue is a sensitive national matter involving strong different opinions between both countries.

The Korean government has focused on foreign relations to prevent the book from being published without the name East Sea.

Korean delegates headed by Paik Ji-ah, director-general for International Organizations of the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry, arrived in Monaco last weekend and put in last-ditch efforts to persuade the organization`s 78 member countries. A ministry official said, "It is the government`s firm stance that if East Sea is not used, the book cannot be published."

lightee@donga.com