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
The Conflict Over the Sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands -- between Taiwan (ROC), China (PRC), & Japan conclusion on the sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands. The Diaoyu Islands consisted five non-inhibited islets-- Uotsuri Shima (Diaoyu Dao), Taisho To (Chiwei Dao), Kuba Shima (Huangwei Yu), Kita Kojima (Bei Xiaodao), and Minami Kojima (Nan Xiaodao)-- and three barren rocks, which are Okinokita Iwa (Da Bei Xiaodao), Okinominami Iwa (Dan Nan Xiaodao), and Tobise (Fei Jiao Yen). The total area of the Diaoyu Islands were 6.5 square kilometer. Among all the islands, Uotsuri Shima was considered as the largest one, which is approximately 4.5 square kilometer. These islands lie in between Northern longitude 25.40 to 26 degrees, and Eastern longitude