Liancourt Rocks

Liancourt Rocks, Jap. Takeshima, Korean Tok Do, island group, 58 acres (23 hectares), in the SW Sea of Japan, roughly midway between the Japanese island of Honshu and the Korean peninsula. Consisting of two small rocky islands and nearby reefs, the Liancourt Rocks are claimed by Japan and South Korea, and have been occupied by South Korea since 1954. An irritant in Japanese-Korean relations, they are valuable mainly for the fisheries in the surrounding waters and the potential offshore mineral wealth. The Korean name is also romanized Tokdo, Tokto, and Dokdo.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.