A ruling party lawmaker sent letters Saturday to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates concerning the recent reference by a U.S. official to the East Sea as “Sea of Japan,” which has irked Koreans.

Rep. Won Hee-ryong of the Grand National Party, who chairs the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and trade, sent them after Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell last Wednesday used the sensitive name while talking about where the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise will take place.

South Koreans have felt unhappy about the reference to its territorial water as “Sea of Japan” in many international books and maps. The government has been calling on the international community to use both names as the international standard.

“There is a concern among the Korean people that the reference to “Sea of Japan” in a statement made by a U.S. official is not consistent with the Korean government’s position of calling the body of water between Korea and Japan ‘East Sea.’”

“As you may well understand, the issues of sovereignty over the Dokdo islets and the naming of East Sea are considered to be sensitive matters by Koreans. I expect that the nations concerned and their officials will pay attention to Korea’s stance until these issues are settled smoothly through international agreement.”

Won apparently was concerned that the sensitive term could cause a stir here again should it be publicly used at the “two-plus-two talks,” a meeting of the two countries’ defense and foreign ministers to be held here on Wednesday.

“I will make all diplomatic efforts I can do at the parliamentary level as the chief of the committee to realize people’s aspirations concerning the territorial sovereignty,” Won said in a press release.

A close aide to Won told The Korea Herald that “Though many countries such as the U.S., the U.K. and China officially use ‘Sea of Japan,’ it is appropriate to use ‘East Sea’ or both names at least when they deal with bilateral issues with South Korea.”

Meanwhile, a diplomatic source here said that in a joint statement to be adopted at the two-plus-two talks, the two sides are likely to use a “neutral” expression such as “the east coast of the Korean Peninsula.”

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldm.com)