Ministry of National Defense: Japan's 'White Paper Protest' Unjust... Unacceptable

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter]The Ministry of National Defense on the 3rd categorically rejected Japan's protest against the '2020 Defense White Paper' as unjust and unacceptable.

In a press release that day, the Ministry of National Defense stated that the day before, the Japanese Ministry of Defense protested regarding the White Paper and the military attach? in Japan responded, clarifying that "Japan's unjust protest is unacceptable and the descriptions in the 2020 Defense White Paper are objective facts."

The Ministry of National Defense reported that Japan expressed regret over the content related to Dokdo in the Defense White Paper and demanded appropriate responses from Korea regarding issues such as the Japanese patrol aircraft.

The Defense White Paper, released the previous day, downgraded the expression for Japan from 'partner' to 'neighboring country,' pointing out that "provocations over Dokdo by some Japanese political leaders, the close-range threat flights by Japanese patrol aircraft toward Korean naval vessels in 2018, and unilateral media announcements that distort these facts have caused difficulties in defense relations between Korea and Japan."

It also stated, "Going forward, we will firmly and strictly respond to Japan's historical distortions, unjust territorial claims over Dokdo, and unilateral and arbitrary measures on current issues, while continuing to cooperate on shared security matters for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.