SEOUL, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- In Seoul Monday, South Korea and Japan opened two days of talks on the sensitive issue of the border islands that have strained bilateral relations for years.
But the two sides failed to resolve their differences during the first day of the meeting over the two neighbors' exclusive economic zones around the islands, which are controlled by South Korea.
Dokdo, a cluster of two main islands and dozens of attached rocks and reefs that lies about halfway between the Korean peninsula and Japan's largest island, Honshu, has long been a source of dispute between the two neighbors. The islands, called Takeshima in Japan, are surrounded by rich fishing grounds.
The two sides are scheduled to meet again Tuesday, but are unlikely to reach a breakthrough.
"Talks on the exclusive economic zones are tantamount to those on drawing a territorial boundary," said Park Hee-kwon, director general for the treaties bureau of South Korea's Foreign Ministry. "The negotiations will be tough and difficult."
This week's meeting is the third regular talk on the issue; the first occurred in October last year.
South Korea and Japan were on the verge of a maritime clash in April when the Japanese Coast Guard moved to conduct a maritime survey near the islets. The plan was shelved after South Korea responded angrily.
