Takeshima -Syngman Rhee Line

The territory of Japan was confirmed in the Treaty of San Francisco signed on September 8, 1951, in which Japan renounced some part of the territory, although Takeshima remained in the territory of Japan. The Korean President, Syngman Rhee, unilaterally declared a military demarcation line on January 18, 1952. The line included Takeshima into the Korean side. The Korea Coast Guard begun to station Takeshima in 1954.

General Headquarters (GHQ), the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) designated bombing training areas for the US Army in July, 1951 when Japan was still under the occupation by USA. Takeshima was identified as a part of the training area.

On September 8, 1951, Japan signed the Treaty of San Francisco in which territory that Japan should abandon was identified as: Korea, Taiwan and the Pescadores, Hong Kong, the Kuril Islands, the Spratly Islands, Antarctica and Sakhalin Island.

On the other hand, Korea requested to USA that the article should be clarified so that Japan would abandon all the islands that belonged to Korea before the annexation by Japan in 1910, mentioning names of islands.

However, David Dean Rusk, the then Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, answered that Dokdo otherwise known as Takeshima or Liancourt Rocks, had been never treated as part of Korea and the area had been under the jurisdiction of Oki Island of Japan.

In March, 1953, Japan and USA agreed that Takeshima would be excluded from the bombing training area for the US Army to ensure the safety of fishing by Japanese fishers.

Syngman Rhee Line was unilaterally declared on January 18, 1952, just before Japan restored its sovereignty on April 28, 1952 according to the Treaty of San Francisco. Korea needed to create an established fact before the treaty was enacted.

It is not true that Takeshima was returned to Korea as the result of the end of the war. It is not true that Japan lost Takeshima as the result of the war. Truth is that Korea illegally invaded Japanese territory when Japan had no military power.