The United Nations Command recognizes the border island of Hambak in the Yellow Sea as North Korean territory, an official of Seoul's defense ministry said Friday.
Controversy erupted recently over the ownership of the small uninhabited island near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border, after some government data and maps erroneously marked it as South Korean territory.
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(Yonhap) |
In an interview with Voice of America on Friday, former UNC commander Gen. Vincent Brooks also claimed that the island is located south of the NLL, though it is north of the line drawn by North Korea as its own security line.
But the defense ministry has said it is certain that the island is located north of the NLL as jurisdiction was fixed during the armistice agreement signed in 1953, noting that the data and maps were mistaken and will be corrected.
The UNC, which enforces the armistice agreement, "also regards it as North Korean territory, as it has recently delivered such an official stance to our side," the ministry official said. (Yonhap)
