WASHINGTON: The US military on Thursday corrected the previous day’s statement on North Korean missiles, calling the waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula the Sea of Japan, instead of the East Sea mentioned in the original text.

“The United States has not changed its position on using Sea of Japan as the sole approved name for the geographic feature,” the US Indo-Pacific Command said in a newly issued statement.

The correction was made after the Japanese government lodged a protest against the US military over its reference to the East Sea. South Korea calls the waters the East Sea.

The command’s original statement read, “We are aware of North Korean missile launches this morning into the East Sea.”

 Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Manabu Sakai told a press conference on Thursday Japan time that the Sea of Japan is the sole internationally established name for the waters, urging the US side to correct the statement.

In the new announcement, the command said, “Last night’s statement should have referred to the Sea of Japan or waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula.”

The US government is said to be making it a rule to use names of places decided by the US Board on Geographic Names. The board lists the Sea of Japan as the conventional name, while labeling the East Sea as a variant name.

JIJI Press