韓日島嶼爭端引發“退信”風波

Japan on Thursday refused to take back a letter sent by its own prime minister after Seoul said it would not accept delivery of the note, as a row over islands threatened to descend into diplomatic farce.

It was the latest move in an increasingly bitter tit-for-tat dispute that has engulfed two of Asia's largest economies for nearly two weeks.

South Korea said earlier in the day it would return the protest from Yoshihiko Noda without answering it, for fear any move to acknowledge the missive would bolster Tokyo's claim to islands that both sides say they own.

That sparked an angry response from Tokyo, which accused its neighbour of contravening diplomatic norms.

"Under usual protocol, it is inconceivable that letters exchanged between leaders are sent back," Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, the government's top spokesman, told a news conference.

"I hope (South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak) will accept the letter, which was sent to deliver our prime minister's thoughts."

The letter to Lee has not even made it to Seoul, having been kept at the South's embassy in Tokyo, Foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-Young said, announcing the intention to hand the note back.

But in what was beginning to look like a real live game of hot potato, the Japanese foreign ministry turned away a South Korean diplomat, believed to have been carrying Noda's letter, at the gate of the ministry building, NHK footage showed.

"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.韓日兩國的島嶼爭端近日引發外交風波。日本首相野田佳彥致韓國總統李明博的親筆信被韓國退回，但退信遭到日本拒收。

這場針鋒相對的風波愈演愈烈，亞洲兩大經濟體韓國和日本捲入這場風波已有近兩週時間。

韓國當天早些時候表示，會退回日本首相的親筆信，不會給予回覆，因爲擔心任何承認這封信函的舉動都會被認爲是支持日本獨佔獨島（日本稱竹島）的主張。韓日雙方都主張該島主權歸本國所有。

日本方面對韓國的舉動非常惱火，指責韓國違反外交慣例。

日本政府首席發言人、內閣官房長官藤村修當天在記者會上說：“從外交慣例上看，退回首腦之間親筆信這種事情是不可思議的。”

“我希望韓國總統李明博會接受這封信，日本首相寫這封信是爲了表達自己的想法。”

韓國外交部發言人趙泰永說，這封信甚至沒有送到首爾，一直保存在韓國駐東京大使館。他還表示要把這封信退回。

但韓日雙方就像玩起了燙手山芋遊戲。日本廣播公司的視頻顯示，韓國外交官前往日本外務省退信時，被日本外務省拒之門外。

日本外務省副大臣山口壯在新聞發佈會上說：“很遺憾地說，退回外交信函這種做法太幼稚了。”

韓國外交部一位發言人說，將採用郵寄掛號信的方式退回信件。

儘管韓日雙方經貿來往密切，但關係時常陷入緊張局面，歷史原因導致的敵意是出現這種情況的主因。

在韓國總統李明博8月10日突然到訪韓國控制的獨島（日本稱爲竹島）後，兩國關係急劇惡化。