Move to Close Kuril Fishing Will Be Protested to Koizumi

The government has decided to take issue with a tentative agreement between Russia and Japan barring fishing by third countries in the waters around the Southern Kuril Islands at next week's summit meeting in Seoul with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

"We believe Japan will show sincere measures to resolve the issue of distorted historical understanding and the fishing rights," a government official said Sunday.

The government found out about the tentative agreement through the Japanese media, which reported it Saturday.

The government also plans to press for saury fishing rights off the coast of Sanriku. Japan closed the area to Korean fishermen in June in retaliation for their fishing in the Southern Kuril waters under a December 2000 agreement between Korea and Russia.

Despite Japanese opposition, Korean fishermen went ahead with the agreement and began fishing in the disputed waters in August with legal endorsement from Russia. Japan continued to consult with Russia to stop the fishing, and the Russian Foreign Ministry agreed that Korean fishing in the waters should not adversely affect relations between Russia and Japan.

The disputed islands were taken by force by the Soviet Union from Japan at the close of World War II, and Japan has sought to reclaim them ever since.

The government is also said to plan to summon Terusuke Terada, Japanese ambassador in Seoul, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to state that Korea's traditional fishing profits should not be damaged.

Even if Russia and Japan officially agree to prohibit fishing in the waters off the Southern Kuril Islands by third countries, the government plans to pursue separate bilateral consultations with Russia and Japan to devise contingency plans.

"If substantial measures are drawn out for continued stable Korean fishing, it does not necessarily mean that fishing must be continued in the same conditions and form," a government official said.

by Oh Young-hwan