About Takeshima:
- It is a group of small islets situated in the middle of the Sea of Japan.
- It is called Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.
- It has also been known as the Liancourt Rocks, named by French whalers after their ship in 1849.
- Administrative Control:
- South Korea currently administers the islets, maintaining a small police detachment and facilities.
- Japan claims sovereignty and considers the issue an unresolved territorial dispute.
Key Facts about the Sea of Japan:
- The Sea of Japan, or East Sea, is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean.
- It is bound by Japan and Sakhalin to the east and by mainland Russia, North Korea, and South Korea to the west.
- Connections:
- It is connected with the East China Sea via the Tsushima and Korea straits and with the Okhotsk Sea in the north by the La Perouse and Tatar straits.
- In the east, it is connected with the Inland Sea of Japan via the Kanmon Strait and the Pacific Ocean by the Tsugaru Strait.
- Dohoku Seamount, an underwater volcano, is its deepest point.
- Major Ports:
- Russia: Vladivostok, Sovetskaya Gavan, Nakhodka, Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, and Kholmsk.
- North Korea: Hamhung, Chongjin, and Wonsan.
- Japan: Niigata, Tsuruta, and Maizuru.
