Ranking officials, police and lawmakers have rushed to visit Dokdo, the nation’s easternmost islets in the East Sea, after a decision to ease travel restrictions on March 16.
The Cultural Heritage Administration decided to allow a maximum of 140 tourists a day to the tiny volcanic outcroppings, 87 kilometers east of Ulleung Island, for environmental and security reasons.
The decision came shortly after Japan’s Shimane prefectural council voted to designate Feb. 22 “Takeshima Day” in an attempt to claim sovereignty over the islets.
Huh Joon-young, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, visited the islets together with Yoo Hong-joon, administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration, on Saturday.
The administration designated Dokdo as Natural Monument No. 336 in 1982.
Huh, the first chief of South Korean police to visit the islets, arrived by a police chopper at 11:30 a.m., presenting flowers at a monument for police officers who died there on duty.
He also had lunch with police officers deployed on the island.
Huh and Yoo discussed ways to improve the islets’ current berthing capacity while preserving its natural environment and bird habitat.
Rep. Kang Jae-sup, the new floor leader of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP), and four other lawmakers also visited Dokdo, holding a discussion to reconsider overhauling a fisheries agreement with Japan and help South Korean civilians live on Dokdo.
The Dokdo consists of two main craggy outcroppings and 32 smaller protrusions.
They also discussed the omission of ination about the islets in a 2004 white paper released by the Ministry of National Defense.
Lee Eui-geun, governor of North Gyeongsang Province, and his delegation also arrived at the islets on the same day.
Some 350 tourists are scheduled to make a short trip to Dokdo on March 26 by a vessel named Hangyoreh, which runs between Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province and the Ulleung Island, resuming the tour which had virtually ceased from last year due to the lack of passengers.
Dae-A Express Shipping, which also runs another vessel between the port of Mukho in Gangwon Province and Ullung, decided to launch a Dokdo tour scheduled for at least once a week, beginning in April to meet increasing demand.
However, experts say it might be difficult to expect a long-term boom in Dokdo tour programs as high waves near the rocky islets allow ships to be anchored safely for only 40 days a year.
The limited number of visitors to the islets is considered insufficient to run vessels on a regular basis.
Visits to Dokdo in boom Date March 31, 2005
Ranking officials, police and lawmakers have rushed to visit Dokdo, the nation’s easternmost islets in the East Sea, after a decision to ease travel restrictions on March 16.
The Cultural Heritage Administration decided to allow a maximum of 140 tourists a day to the tiny volcanic outcroppings, 87 kilometers east of Ulleung Island, for environmental and security reasons.
The decision came shortly after Japan’s Shimane prefectural council voted to designate Feb. 22 “Takeshima Day” in an attempt to claim sovereignty over the islets.
Huh Joon-young, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, visited the islets together with Yoo Hong-joon, administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration, on Saturday.
The administration designated Dokdo as Natural Monument No. 336 in 1982.
Huh, the first chief of South Korean police to visit the islets, arrived by a police chopper at 11:30 a.m., presenting flowers at a monument for police officers who died there on duty.
He also had lunch with police officers deployed on the island.
Huh and Yoo discussed ways to improve the islets’ current berthing capacity while preserving its natural environment and bird habitat.
Rep. Kang Jae-sup, the new floor leader of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP), and four other lawmakers also visited Dokdo, holding a discussion to reconsider overhauling a fisheries agreement with Japan and help South Korean civilians live on Dokdo.
The Dokdo consists of two main craggy outcroppings and 32 smaller protrusions.
They also discussed the omission of ination about the islets in a 2004 white paper released by the Ministry of National Defense.
Lee Eui-geun, governor of North Gyeongsang Province, and his delegation also arrived at the islets on the same day.
Some 350 tourists are scheduled to make a short trip to Dokdo on March 26 by a vessel named Hangyoreh, which runs between Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province and the Ulleung Island, resuming the tour which had virtually ceased from last year due to the lack of passengers.
Dae-A Express Shipping, which also runs another vessel between the port of Mukho in Gangwon Province and Ullung, decided to launch a Dokdo tour scheduled for at least once a week, beginning in April to meet increasing demand.
However, experts say it might be difficult to expect a long-term boom in Dokdo tour programs as high waves near the rocky islets allow ships to be anchored safely for only 40 days a year.
The limited number of visitors to the islets is considered insufficient to run vessels on a regular basis.
Visits to Dokdo in boom Date March 31, 2005
Ranking officials, police and lawmakers have rushed to visit Dokdo, the nation’s easternmost islets in the East Sea, after a decision to ease travel restrictions on March 16.
The Cultural Heritage Administration decided to allow a maximum of 140 tourists a day to the tiny volcanic outcroppings, 87 kilometers east of Ulleung Island, for environmental and security reasons.
The decision came shortly after Japan’s Shimane prefectural council voted to designate Feb. 22 “Takeshima Day” in an attempt to claim sovereignty over the islets.
Huh Joon-young, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, visited the islets together with Yoo Hong-joon, administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration, on Saturday.
The administration designated Dokdo as Natural Monument No. 336 in 1982.
Huh, the first chief of South Korean police to visit the islets, arrived by a police chopper at 11:30 a.m., presenting flowers at a monument for police officers who died there on duty.
He also had lunch with police officers deployed on the island.
Huh and Yoo discussed ways to improve the islets’ current berthing capacity while preserving its natural environment and bird habitat.
Rep. Kang Jae-sup, the new floor leader of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP), and four other lawmakers also visited Dokdo, holding a discussion to reconsider overhauling a fisheries agreement with Japan and help South Korean civilians live on Dokdo.
The Dokdo consists of two main craggy outcroppings and 32 smaller protrusions.
They also discussed the omission of ination about the islets in a 2004 white paper released by the Ministry of National Defense.
Lee Eui-geun, governor of North Gyeongsang Province, and his delegation also arrived at the islets on the same day.
Some 350 tourists are scheduled to make a short trip to Dokdo on March 26 by a vessel named Hangyoreh, which runs between Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province and the Ulleung Island, resuming the tour which had virtually ceased from last year due to the lack of passengers.
Dae-A Express Shipping, which also runs another vessel between the port of Mukho in Gangwon Province and Ullung, decided to launch a Dokdo tour scheduled for at least once a week, beginning in April to meet increasing demand.
However, experts say it might be difficult to expect a long-term boom in Dokdo tour programs as high waves near the rocky islets allow ships to be anchored safely for only 40 days a year.
The limited number of visitors to the islets is considered insufficient to run vessels on a regular basis.
Ranking officials, police and lawmakers have rushed to visit Dokdo, the nation’s easternmost islets in the East Sea, after a decision to ease travel restrictions on March 16.
The Cultural Heritage Administration decided to allow a maximum of 140 tourists a day to the tiny volcanic outcroppings, 87 kilometers east of Ulleung Island, for environmental and security reasons.
The decision came shortly after Japan’s Shimane prefectural council voted to designate Feb. 22 “Takeshima Day” in an attempt to claim sovereignty over the islets.
Huh Joon-young, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, visited the islets together with Yoo Hong-joon, administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration, on Saturday.
The administration designated Dokdo as Natural Monument No. 336 in 1982.
Huh, the first chief of South Korean police to visit the islets, arrived by a police chopper at 11:30 a.m., presenting flowers at a monument for police officers who died there on duty.
He also had lunch with police officers deployed on the island.
Huh and Yoo discussed ways to improve the islets’ current berthing capacity while preserving its natural environment and bird habitat.
Rep. Kang Jae-sup, the new floor leader of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP), and four other lawmakers also visited Dokdo, holding a discussion to reconsider overhauling a fisheries agreement with Japan and help South Korean civilians live on Dokdo.
The Dokdo consists of two main craggy outcroppings and 32 smaller protrusions.
They also discussed the omission of ination about the islets in a 2004 white paper released by the Ministry of National Defense.
Lee Eui-geun, governor of North Gyeongsang Province, and his delegation also arrived at the islets on the same day.
Some 350 tourists are scheduled to make a short trip to Dokdo on March 26 by a vessel named Hangyoreh, which runs between Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province and the Ulleung Island, resuming the tour which had virtually ceased from last year due to the lack of passengers.
Dae-A Express Shipping, which also runs another vessel between the port of Mukho in Gangwon Province and Ullung, decided to launch a Dokdo tour scheduled for at least once a week, beginning in April to meet increasing demand.
However, experts say it might be difficult to expect a long-term boom in Dokdo tour programs as high waves near the rocky islets allow ships to be anchored safely for only 40 days a year.
The limited number of visitors to the islets is considered insufficient to run vessels on a regular basis.
