Han rejects historical, territorial land claims

As South Korea marked the 4,338th anniversary of its national foundation day, Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook vowed yesterday to firmly preserve the country’s sovereignty over its territory and history against Japanese and Chinese attempts to lay claim to them.
“The Korean nation has made history without yielding to numerous challenges from inside and outside the country, but there are moves to distort that history,” Ms. Han said, speaking at a commemoration ceremony in Seoul. “I’m deeply concerned about that.”
She referred to Japan’s claim to ownership of the Dokdo islets in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) and China’s alleged attempts to distort the history of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo.
“The Dokdo islets are undoubtedly our national territory and Goguryeo and other ancient kingdoms founded by our nation shine in our history,” she said. “I will preserve the sovereignty of our territory and history based on objective research by the Northeast Asian History Foundation that was launched on Sept. 28.”
The foundation was formed to rebut historical claims by China.