S. Korea to hand back Noda's letter later Thurs.
18:12, 23 August 2012
SEOUL August 23. KAZINFORM The South Korean government said Thursday that a letter addressed to President Lee Myung Bak from Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiko Noda will be sent back to the Japanese Foreign Ministry through the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo later in the day with a diplomatic note attached.
"It's very natural to return a letter that contains contents that can never be accepted under any circumstances," foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai Young said in explaining the reason for returning the letter, which Noda wrote in protest against Lee's visit to disputed islets and remarks Lee made regarding Emperor Akihito, Kyodo reports.
Cho also lodged a protest against Japanese Foreign Minister Koiichiro Gemba's remark that South Korea is "illegally occupying" the islets in the Sea of Japan, known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.
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