Exclusive: U.S. Marine Corps Forces Korea Uses "East Sea" Terminology, Signaling Shift Within U.S. Forces Korea

[Anchor]

The U.S. government officially refers to the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan as the "Sea of Japan." However, it has been confirmed that the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Korea (MARFORK) recently used the term "East Sea" in an official document, departing from the standard "Sea of Japan" designation. With U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander General Xavier Brunson having used the term "East Sea" since last year, this terminology appears to be spreading among subordinate units.

Defense correspondent Kim Taehun reports exclusively.

[Reporter]

This is a video of training and events uploaded by the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Korea to the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on July 9.

[Valerie Jackson / Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Korea: By having the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Korea forward-deployed on the Asian continent, the Marine Corps can possess surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities for this region.]

While explaining the significance of joint exercises between the South Korean and U.S. Marine Corps and the geopolitical role of South Korea, a map of Northeast Asia is displayed.

The sea to the east of the Korean Peninsula is labeled not as the "Sea of Japan," but as the "East Sea."

This is an unprecedented instance of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Korea using the "East Sea" designation in an official capacity.

Furthermore, while the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command—the higher headquarters for the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Korea—designate the area as the "Sea of Japan," the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Korea has independently used the term "East Sea."

U.S. forces stationed in South Korea began openly using the term "East Sea" instead of "Sea of Japan" starting last year.

USFK Commander General Xavier Brunson has used the term "East Sea" not only in somewhat informal online discussions but also during congressional hearings.

[Xavier Brunson / Commander, U.S. Forces Korea (April last year, U.S. Senate): Chinese naval vessels have violated the NLL in the 'West Sea,' and Russian military aircraft have frequently violated the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone in the 'East Sea.']

Following the USFK commander, the use of the term "East Sea" appears to be spreading to subordinate units. USFK stated that it refers to the waters east of the Korean Peninsula as the "East Sea" in accordance with long-standing practices.

They added that in cases of trilateral or multilateral military cooperation involving South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, they use the neutral term "At Sea" in accordance with diplomatic and operational customs.

Reported by Kim Hyunsang | Video edited by Kim Hojin | Designed by Park Taeyoung
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.