Is the so-called 'Rusk Letter' be a Critical Evidence of Japan's Territorial Claim to Dokdo Island?

• Author: Yuji Hosaka
• Pages: 145-159

Rusk Letter

145

VII JEAIL 1 (2014)

Yuji Hosaka

∗

This paper provides detailed analysis of the so-called ‘Rusk Letter’ which has been

generally referred to as an evidence of Japan’s territorial claim to Dokdo island.

The Rusk Letter is a diplomatic epistle which was drafted by Dean Rusk, the US

Assistant Secretary of State and sent to the Korean Embassy in the US on August

10, 1951. This letter considers Dokdo as Japan’s territory. However, the Rusk Letter

has been legally and historically criticized from mainly two aspects. First, the Rusk

Letter referred to the ownership of Dokdo only considering the Japanese position

      

which was sent only to Korea; Japan and even the US Embassy to Korea did not

 

the Rusk Letter cannot be a critical evidence of Japan’s territorial claim over Dokdo.

Keywords

Rusk Letter, Dokdo, Takeshima, Territorial Claim, Evidence, San Francisco

Peace Treaty, Cairo Declaration, Potsdam Declaration, US draft, US-

British Draft

Is the so-called

‘

Rusk Letter’

be a Critical Evidence of

Japan’s Territorial Claim

to Dokdo Island?

∗ Professor of Political Science at Sejong University, Seoul, Korea. B.A.(Tokyo), Ph.D.(Korea). ORCID: https://orcid.

org/0000-0001-6655-0329. This research was supported by Sejong University Research Fund. The author may be

contacted at: hosaka@sejong.ac.kr / Address: 313 Saenal-gwan Sejong University Gunja-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul

143-747 Korea.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2014.7.1.07

2014-05-23 오후 2:26:04