S. Korea seeks to build airport on East Sea island

South Korea's transportation ministry said Wednesday that it is seeking to resume a stalled project to build an airport on Ulleung Island in the East Sea in an effort to attract more visitors and improve logistical conditions there. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said it will finalize a report for the construction of an airport capable of handling light aircraft carrying up to 50 people next month. Last year, the transportation ministry scrapped the plan, citing its low economic feasibility. Some 270,000 people annually visit the island, located 130 kilometers off South Korea's east coast, according to the ministry. The envisioned airport's runway would be 1.1 kilometers long and would cost about 400 billion won (US$381 million) to build. Previously, the ministry estimated the cost of construction at 640 billion won. Ulleung Island, meanwhile, is about 90 kilometers northwest of the Dokdo islets that have long been the subject of a territorial dispute between South Korea and Japan. South Koreans see Tokyo's claims as a sign that Japan has not repented fully for its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Seoul has rejected Tokyo's claims over Dokdo as nonsense because South Korea has exercised sovereignty over the islets since having regained independence from colonial rule.