Ahead of the first summit between the leaders of South Korea and Japan, Seoul is 'heating up' the territorial dispute issue.

On October 10th, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will hold his first summit meeting with the new Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru; however, Seoul has accused Tokyo of obstructing research activities surrounding a disputed archipelago.

The disputed Dokdo islands are located in the sea east of South Korea, but Japan also claims sovereignty over them and calls them Takeshima.

According to data from the South Korean Coast Guard, cited by the Yonhap news agency, Japan has interfered with Seoul's marine research activities around the disputed islands, which it calls Dokdo and Tokyo also claims sovereignty over and calls Takeshima, more than 70 times in the past five years.

Accordingly, Japanese patrol vessels have been shadowing South Korean scientific research ships. Yonhap alleges that Tokyo's interference accounts for approximately half of the 131 times Seoul has conducted research around the Dokdo/Takeshima islands over the past five years.

This year, South Korea has conducted 12 research projects up to the end of July, with Japan attempting to obstruct them four times. Japan has not yet responded to this information.

This accusation comes amid heightened attention surrounding the first summit meeting between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and newly appointed Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, scheduled for today, October 10th, on the sidelines of the ASEAN+ Summit in Vientiane, Laos.

A week earlier, the two leaders had their first telephone conversation, discussing the need for bilateral cooperation as well as trilateral cooperation with the US to counter threats from North Korea.

During the phone call, both sides agreed to continue maintaining regular "shuttle diplomacy" and to meet soon for a frank exchange on bilateral relations and other issues of mutual interest.

Relations between Japan and South Korea improved significantly after President Yoon decided to resolve a long-standing dispute over Tokyo's wartime forced labor by compensating victims without requiring Japanese companies to contribute.

However, the Dokdo/Takeshima island dispute remains a source of tension in relations between the two countries, as Tokyo continues to assert its sovereignty over the islands in documents, policies, public statements, and textbooks.

South Korea has effectively controlled the Dokdo Islands since their liberation from Japanese rule during the 1910-45 period.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/truoc-them-cuoc-gap-thuong-dinh-dau-tien-giua-lanh-dao-han-quoc-va-nhat-ban-seoul-lam-nong-van-de-tranh-chap-lanh-tho-289517.html