Declassified document shows U.S. recognition of Dokdo as Korean territory in 1948

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- A newly discovered U.S. military document from 1948 shows that American authorities at the time recognized the Dokdo islets as a part of Korean territory, a local research foundation said Tuesday.

The previously classified document, compiled by the U.S. Far East Air Forces (FEAF) on June 24, 1948, states that it had been "definitely established in September 1947 that the Liancourt Rocks was a part of Korea," using the Western name for South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.

The document, titled "Report of Bombing of Liancourt Rocks," reported on an incident earlier that month in which U.S. Air Force aircraft conducting a training exercise bombed the islets, killing 14 Korean fishermen and injuring several others.

Dokdo has long been a recurring source of tension between South Korea and Japan, as Tokyo has continued to make territorial claims over the islets in its policy papers, public statements and school textbooks. South Korea maintains a small police detachment on the islets, effectively controlling them.

This image, provided by the Northeast Asian History Foundation, shows part of a previously classified report compiled by the U.S. Far East Air Forces on June 24, 1948, stating that it had been "definitely established in September 1947 that the Liancourt Rocks was a part of Korea," using the Western name for South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The report's wording is seen as effectively acknowledging Dokdo as Korean territory, according to the Northeast Asian History Foundation, which announced the discovery.

The 222-page file, including the report, was identified at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration by Jeon Gap-saeng, a research professor at the East Asian Research Institute of Sungkonghoe University in Seoul.

The report also shows a provision of "FEAF Radio MX 6399," which required notification to the commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces in Korea (USAFIK), the U.S. Army command responsible for the military government in South Korea at the time, fifteen days in advance to use the bombing range. The foundation said this can be interpreted as specifying an obligation to notify the relevant Korean authorities in advance, as Dokdo was considered Korean territory.

Also noteworthy from the file is official correspondence from the then governor of Ulleung Island regarding the country's sovereignty over the Dokdo islets, as well as testimonies from local residents. A document jointly signed by local officials at the time of the bombing states that they received no prior notice of the military exercise.

The archive also contains a 1946 official document written by an Ulleung Island governor to confirm Dokdo as part of Ulleung's jurisdiction, including a handwritten copy of a report by Shim Heung-taek, a local official who in 1905 protested Japan's illegal incorporation of the islets.

While the content of Shim's report was previously known, this marks the first discovery of the document in a standalone single-sheet form, the foundation said.

The newly found materials are expected to provide valuable primary evidence of Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo during the immediate post-liberation period, as such documentation remains limited.

"These records are important historical materials showing that U.S. military authorities clearly recognized Dokdo as Korean territory at the time," the foundation said, adding that the documents will be put on public display during future exhibitions at the Dokdo Museum Seoul.

This image, provided by the Northeast Asian History Foundation, shows an official Korean document on the bombing of the Dokdo islets by U.S. Air Force aircraft conducting a training exercise on June 8, 1948. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)