Ichiro Komatsu (right)、head of the Foreign Ministry's International Legal Affairs Bureau、and his South Korean counterpart Park Hee-kwon

The talks on the islands -- known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea -- are the neighbors' first on the topic in six years and involved tough negotiations because both sides want the islands exclusive rights to marine resources that surround them.

"I hope we can have meaningful talks and make progress," Japan's chief delegate Ichiro Komatsu (pictured right), a Foreign Ministry director of international law department, said before the talks started, asking his South Korean counterpart, Park Hee-kwon, to make a similar effort.

On the first day, Seoul pushed for a more extensive EEZ than it had claimed in previous talks. Tokyo rejected Seoul's claim. On the second day, the two sides agreed to hold another round of talks in September.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 17, 2006
(C) All rights reserved