Liancourt Rocks dispute Liancourt Rocks dispute The Liancourt Rocks dispute is a territorial dispute between South Korea and Japan. Both countries claim sovereignty over the Liancourt Rocks, a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan which are referred to as "Dokdo" () in Korean and in Japanese. North Korea also claims sovereignty of the islands. The Liancourt Rocks have been administered by South Korea since 1954 by the Korea Coast Guard. This action was taken after the United States stated in the Rusk documents that the Japanese claim to the Liancourt Rocks would not be renounced in their peace treaty with
Liancourt Rocks dispute view, these refer to today's Liancourt Rocks, while the Japanese researchers of these documents have stated that the various references to Usan-do refer at different times to Jukdo, its neighboring island Ulleungdo, or a non-existent island between Ulleungdo and Korea. Researchers disagree on who first had administrative control over the islets due to ambiguities in early historical records and maps, partly due to changes in the names of the islands in the area over the years. Samguk Sagi ("History of Three Kingdoms") recorded that in 512, the 13th reign year of King Jijeung of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms