Liancourt Rocks dispute Japan. In 1954, Japan proposed a reference to the International Court of Justice, which South Korea rejected, believing that the Liancourt Rocks are irrefutably South Korean territories, and thus should not be dealt through diplomatic negotiations or judicial settlement between South Korea and Japan. There are conflicting interpretations about the historical state of sovereignty over the islets. Korean claims are partly based on references to a Korean island called "Usan-do" in various historical records, maps and encyclopedias such as the "Samguk Sagi", "Annals of the Joseon Dynasty", "Dongguk Yeoji Seungnam" (), and "Dongguk munheon bigo" (). According to the Korean
Liancourt Rocks dispute were Japanese territory: ""[T]his normally uninhabited rock formation was according to our information never treated as part of Korea and, since about 1905, has been under the jurisdiction of the Oki Islands Branch Office of Shimane Prefecture of Japan. The island does not appear ever before to have been claimed by Korea."" On January 18, 1952, South Korea, a non-signatory state to the San Francisco Peace Treaty, announced the Presidential Declaration of Sovereignty over Adjacent Seas (Peace Line, Rhee Line) including Liancourt Rocks within Korean territory along the expiring MacArthur Line (SCAPIN#1033; June 22, 1946 – April 1952) before the