Korea Dumped Waste in Japanese Waters For 15 Years

“>Whoops, looks like South Korea officially designated part of Japanese waters as a waste dump area:

Some part of waste dump areas in the Sea of Japan designated by the South Korean government overlaps with the continental shelf area and thus the exclusive economic zone of Japan. Unaware of this, South Korea has dumped waste in these areas for the past 15 years.

[...]

The demarcation line between the continental shelves was established as a result of an agreement in 1974. The borderline of the EEZs of the two countries was delineated as a result of a new agreement on fisheries between Korea and Japan in 1998.

A South Korean government official said the continental shelf area and the EEZ “are quasi-territorial waters of any country, as the country has exclusive jurisdiction over resource development, environmental preservation and fishery rights in those areas. To avoid diplomatic friction, we must immediately revoke the designation of the waste dump areas that infringe Japanese jurisdiction.” He said the issue was “tantamount to our government having dumped waste in Japanese territory. We should take responsibility according to international law if Japan proves that its marine environment has been contaminated.”

But an official with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said, “We’ve banned waste dump in the Japanese-controlled areas since 1998, so our government will not have to take responsibility for it. But it’s true that we’ve infringed Japanese jurisdiction, so we’ll work out ways to redesignate waste dump areas.”

At least it’s better than radioactive waste.

[via FG]