On October 25, Dokdo Day, civil society and the National Assembly, including the Korean Council, held a press conference to demand an end to military cooperation with the Japanese government, attempting to steal the Dokdo.
The government of Yoon Suk-yeol has been attempting to erase the existence of Dokdo, which is historically and de facto Korea's sovereign territory. The military's mental training manuals have been revised to Dokdo as a "disputed territory," civil defense training videos have used maps that show Dokdo as Japanese territory. Various Dokdo sculptures and exhibits have been removed from public spaces, such as subway stations and museums, and some have been reinstalled after criticism.
Dokdo defense drills have been drastically scaled down and classified. Moreover, when the Japanese patrol boats frequently invaded the waters near the islands, the government did not raise an issue about it. On the other hand, the Japanese government has been indoctrinating future generations with false claims by stating that the island is "Japanese inherent territory" for the first time in the 2022 revision of its National Security Strategy and even stating in textbooks that "South Korea is illegally occupying islands." Despite this, the Yoon Suk-yeol government is not only failing to respond to the Japanese government's violation of its territorial sovereignty, but it is instead working to "erase Dokdo" by drastically reducing education, publicity, and training related to it.
Recently, the Ministry of Defense revealed its intention to push ahead with the JSDF's entry into the Korean Peninsula unilaterally, stating that JSDF's short-term entry and stay at a U.S. military base in Korea was not agreed upon by the National Assembly. The ministry also responded to new Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba's idea of building an Asian version of NATO by saying it would "discuss it when it's materialized." The government is pushing for military cooperation between Korea and Japan, even going so far as to undermine Dokdo's sovereignty and discard historical justice.
Dokdo historically belonged to the Koreans and is effectively Korea's territory. It is unacceptable to build a military alliance with a country that seeks to violate territorial sovereignty. We cannot give away our military secrets, cannot give away our territorial sovereignty, cannot give away our history and we cannot bring the Japanese military back to the Korean Peninsula.
On October 25, Dokdo Day, civil society and the National Assembly, including the Korean Council, held a press conference to demand an end to military cooperation with the Japanese government, attempting to steal the Dokdo.
The government of Yoon Suk-yeol has been attempting to erase the existence of Dokdo, which is historically and de facto Korea's sovereign territory. The military's mental training manuals have been revised to Dokdo as a "disputed territory," civil defense training videos have used maps that show Dokdo as Japanese territory. Various Dokdo sculptures and exhibits have been removed from public spaces, such as subway stations and museums, and some have been reinstalled after criticism.
Dokdo defense drills have been drastically scaled down and classified. Moreover, when the Japanese patrol boats frequently invaded the waters near the islands, the government did not raise an issue about it. On the other hand, the Japanese government has been indoctrinating future generations with false claims by stating that the island is "Japanese inherent territory" for the first time in the 2022 revision of its National Security Strategy and even stating in textbooks that "South Korea is illegally occupying islands." Despite this, the Yoon Suk-yeol government is not only failing to respond to the Japanese government's violation of its territorial sovereignty, but it is instead working to "erase Dokdo" by drastically reducing education, publicity, and training related to it.
Recently, the Ministry of Defense revealed its intention to push ahead with the JSDF's entry into the Korean Peninsula unilaterally, stating that JSDF's short-term entry and stay at a U.S. military base in Korea was not agreed upon by the National Assembly. The ministry also responded to new Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba's idea of building an Asian version of NATO by saying it would "discuss it when it's materialized." The government is pushing for military cooperation between Korea and Japan, even going so far as to undermine Dokdo's sovereignty and discard historical justice.
Dokdo historically belonged to the Koreans and is effectively Korea's territory. It is unacceptable to build a military alliance with a country that seeks to violate territorial sovereignty. We cannot give away our military secrets, cannot give away our territorial sovereignty, cannot give away our history and we cannot bring the Japanese military back to the Korean Peninsula.