日本駐韓大使將返回首爾

Japan's ambassador is back to South Korea, one week after recalling him in the wake of an intensifying island dispute between the two Asian neighbors.

Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said Wednesday the ambassador, Masatoshi Muto, will return to Seoul to help manage the dispute over the islands, known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in Korea.

Tokyo recalled the ambassador last week to protest South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit to the strategic islands, which are thought to be surrounded by energy deposits.

On Tuesday, South Korea dismissed a proposal by Japan to take the decades-old dispute to the International Court of Justice.日本駐韓國大使將重返首爾，一星期前，日本和韓國圍繞有爭議島嶼的爭端激化，日本召回駐韓大使。

日本外務大臣玄葉光一郎星期三說，日本駐韓大使武藤正敏將返回首爾，協助處理有關有爭議島嶼的問題。日本和韓國分別將這個島嶼稱爲“竹島”和“獨島”。

東京上星期召回駐韓大使，以抗議韓國總統李明博登上這個島嶼。據信這個島嶼周圍海域能源礦藏豐富。

韓國星期二拒絕了日本提出的將兩國之間幾十年來的島嶼主權爭端交與國際法庭仲裁的提議。