SEOUL, April 25 (UPI) -- South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun Tuesday criticized Japan, saying that its claim to disputed islets in the Sea of Japan is "intolerable."
In a special statement which was televised to the nation, Roh said Japan's claim is tantamount to "justifying its history of crime committed during the war of aggression," Kyodo News reported Tuesday.
The issue of disputed islets, known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan, is "a matter that can never be given up or compromised at any cost and sacrifice," Roh said.
The statement came after both countries reached an agreement last week that averted a confrontation over the islets.
Tokyo has agreed to withdraw a maritime survey around the islets and Seoul has agreed, in return, not to propose Korean names for the area around the islets at an international conference in Germany in June.
