It was not until the Korean government became a member of the United Nations in 1991 that it could officially bring the issue up at international conferences.  For the past 15 years, the Korean government has exerted tireless efforts to raise international awareness of the legitimacy of the name “East Sea”.  Accordingly, the international community now recognizes the naming dispute over the sea area between Korea and Japan, and awaits a favorable solution through bilateral consultations.
  The Japanese government maintains that the United Nations has authorized the name “Sea of Japan” as the only official name for the sea area, citing a letter from the United Nations Secretariat dated March 2004.  According to Japanese officials, “the United Nations Secretariat clarifies its position that it observes the prevailing practice of the single use of “Sea of Japan” and that dual designation breaches the prevailing practice and infringes the neutrality of the United Nations.”  On this basis, the Japanese government concludes that the name “Sea of Japan”is officially authorized by the UN.
  However, the UN Secretariat has clearly stated the following in a letter addressed to the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations: “the UN Secretariat practice of using, in the absence of an internationally agreed standard, the most widespread and generally recognized denomination is without any prejudice to the position of any Member State of the United Nations on a particular appellation and does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations.  It goes without saying that the use of an appellation by the Secretariat based on the above-cited and established practice is without prejudice to any negotiations or agreements between the interested parties and should not be interpreted as advocating or endorsing any party’s position, and can in no way be invoked by any party in support of a particular position in the matter.”
  This letter reveals that Japan’s argument that the UN has officially authorized the name “Sea of Japan” is entirely unfounded.  The UN Secretariat made it clear that although it maintains the prevailing practice of the single use of “Sea of Japan”, this should not be interpreted as supporting or endorsing the position of Japan regarding the name of the sea.  The letter also indicates that the UN Secretariat opposes the Japanese government's misuse of the UN notion of neutrality to its own advantage in the ongoing dispute it has with Korea over the proper name of the sea.