"I'm sorry to say this, but returning a diplomatic letter is below even being childish," Senior Vice Foreign Minister Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi said at a press conference.
The letter was subsequently put in the post, registered delivery, a spokesman at the foreign ministry in Seoul said.
Despite their strong economic ties, the two countries have a frequently uneasy relationship, in which historical animosities constantly play in the background.
That relationship has sharply worsened since Lee paid a surprise August 10 visit to the Seoul-controlled islands, known as Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japan.
韩日两国的岛屿争端近日引发外交风波。日本首相野田佳彦致韩国总统李明博的亲笔信被韩国退回,但退信遭到日本拒收。
这场针锋相对的风波愈演愈烈,亚洲两大经济体韩国和日本卷入这场风波已有近两周时间。
韩国当天早些时候表示,会退回日本首相的亲笔信,不会给予回复,因为担心任何承认这封信函的举动都会被认为是支持日本独占独岛(日本称竹岛)的主张。韩日双方都主张该岛主权归本国所有。
日本方面对韩国的举动非常恼火,指责韩国违反外交惯例。
日本政府首席发言人、内阁官房长官藤村修当天在记者会上说:“从外交惯例上看,退回首脑之间亲笔信这种事情是不可思议的。”
【韩日岛屿争端引发“退信”风波】相关文章:
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