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 government. The classification of the Liancourt Rocks as Undesignated Sovereignty in the BGN database was reversed on July 30 under the order of U.S. President George W. Bush, once again marking the status of Liancourt Rocks under South Korean control. On August 10, 2012, the President of South Korea, Lee Myung-Bak, visited the Liancourt Rocks, which made him the first South Korean president to do so. Japan temporarily withdrew its ambassador to South Korea, Masatoshi Muto, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kōichirō Gemba summoned the South Korean ambassador to file a complaint and threatened to lodge a case with the