A panoramic view of Dokdo. [Provided by the North Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly]
A panoramic view of Dokdo. [Provided by the North Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly]

North Gyeongsang Province and its provincial assembly strongly condemned Japan's 2026 defense white paper, released Tuesday, which claims Dokdo as Japanese territory, and called on Tokyo to immediately retract the assertion.

In a condemnation statement issued that day, the provincial government said Japan's annual repetition of what it called unjust territorial claims through the defense white paper amounted to "an act of denying historical truth and institutionalizing and entrenching a distorted understanding of territory."

The statement also said Japan's repeated inclusion of distorted descriptions of Dokdo in official government documents — first in its diplomatic bluebook and now again in the defense white paper — "damages trust between the two countries and is in no way conducive to building a forward-looking relationship."

North Gyeongsang Governor Lee Chul-woo said Dokdo is "unequivocally South Korea's inherent territory, historically, geographically and under international law," adding that the province, as the local government with jurisdiction over Dokdo, would do its utmost to ensure the islets' sustainable management and to promote an accurate understanding of their history.

The North Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly issued a separate statement the same day, strongly condemning Japan's repeated unjust claims over Dokdo, which it described as South Korea's sovereign territory.

Japan's defense white paper first mentioned Dokdo in 1978. From 1997, it described the islets as a region with an unresolved territorial dispute, and from 2005 began characterizing Dokdo as inherently Japanese territory — a claim it has now repeated for 22 consecutive years, including this year.

Provincial Assembly Speaker Kim Hui-su said that no matter how many times Japan repeats the same claim, "our territorial sovereignty will never waver," and pledged that the assembly would uphold that sovereignty in keeping with the will of residents who have long stood by Dokdo.


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com