A press conference in Seoul late Thursday by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and South Korea Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se was largely routine, with both restating their countries' positions on issues ranging from North Korea to bilateral trade.

But there was one minor hiccup when a reporter from South Korea's Seoul Shinmun asked Mr. Kerry about the Liancourt Rocks, known in South Korea as Dokdo and in Japan as Takeshima. The two Asian neighbors have long disputed the territory, which is controlled by Seoul.

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