Despite being mortal enemies, North and South Korea agree on thing: Dokdo, the group of rocks in the middle of the “Sea of Japan” or “East Sea” is Korean and not Japanese. The international name for Dokdo is officially “Liancourt Rocks”, a name often found on maps to avoid offending either Korea or Japan, but the two main rocks plus a series of smaller rocks are firmly in the hands of the South Korean coastguard, who are there day and night. Also there are a few lighthouse keepers and even one Korean individual officially lives on the islands.
Despite South Korea running the islands, North Korea has depicted the islands on North Korean stamps. That’s because the DPRK still claims to be the only legitimate government on the whole of the Korean peninsula, which also means that the DPRK claims all islands currently within the ROK or South Korea. It is funnily enough therefore North Korea which has shown the South Korean coastguard quarters (part of the lighthouse complex) on a North Korean stamp sheet. Also shown here is a North Korean stamp with a detailed map of the rocks.
