韩日岛屿争端引发“退信”风波

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.

韩日两国的岛屿争端近日引发外交风波。日本首相野田佳彦致韩国总统李明博的亲笔信被韩国退回，但退信遭到日本拒收。

这场针锋相对的风波愈演愈烈，亚洲两大经济体韩国和日本卷入这场风波已有近两周时间。

韩国当天早些时候表示，会退回日本首相的亲笔信，不会给予回复，因为担心任何承认这封信函的举动都会被认为是支持日本独占独岛（日本称竹岛）的主张。韩日双方都主张该岛主权归本国所有。

日本方面对韩国的举动非常恼火，指责韩国违反外交惯例。

日本政府首席发言人、内阁官房长官藤村修当天在记者会上说：“从外交惯例上看，退回首脑之间亲笔信这种事情是不可思议的。”

“我希望韩国总统李明博会接受这封信，日本首相写这封信是为了表达自己的想法。”

韩国外交部发言人赵泰永说，这封信甚至没有送到首尔，一直保存在韩国驻东京大使馆。他还表示要把这封信退回。

但韩日双方就像玩起了烫手山芋游戏。日本广播公司的视频显示，韩国外交官前往日本外务省退信时，被日本外务省拒之门外。

日本外务省副大臣山口壮在资讯发布会上说：“很遗憾地说，退回外交信函这种做法太幼稚了。”

韩国外交部一位发言人说，将采用邮寄挂号信的方式退回信件。

尽管韩日双方经贸来往密切，但关系时常陷入紧张局面，历史原因导致的敌意是出现这种情况的主因。

在韩国总统李明博8月10日突然到访韩国控制的独岛（日本称为竹岛）后，两国关系急剧恶化。