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| This captured photo shows a press release from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command describing the body of water between South Korea and Japan as the Sea of Japan. Korea Times photo by Kang Seung-woo |
By Kang Seung-woo
The South Korean government requested the U.S. military, Thursday, to change the name of the body of water where South Korea, the United States and Japan held a three-way naval exercise, the previous day.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command described the venue of the joint missile defense drill as the Sea of Japan, although South Korea calls it the East Sea. When the allies held a similar exercise in October last year, the U.S command referred to the venue as the waters between South Korea and Japan.
"After finding that the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command used the Sea of Japan, we requested the U.S. side to correct it," Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) spokesman Army Col. Lee Sung-jun said in a press briefing, Thursday.
Seoul's JCS said it requested the U.S. side to describe the venue of the joint drill as open waters.
On Wednesday, three warships from South Korea, Japan and the United States carried out a ballistic missile defense drill in the waters east of South Korea in an apparent show of force against a recent North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, according to the JCS.
The Republic of Korea Navy's Aegis destroyer ROKS Sejong the Great held a drill with Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry and a Japanese Atago-class Aegis destroyer.
The trilateral exercise took place shortly after North Korea launched a Hwasong-15 ICBM last Saturday that is believed to be theoretically capable of hitting targets anywhere on the U.S. mainland.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk also said during a briefing that the government has clearly conveyed its position regarding the name issue to the U.S. side on various occasions.
"We also communicated our position to the Indo-Pacific Command," Lim said, adding that the ministry will continue to work with all diplomatic missions abroad and related organizations and private organizations to correct errors related to the East Sea and to raise awareness in the international community.
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