Japan and South Korea delimited their maritime boundary in the Korea Strait, or Tsushima Strait as it is known in Japan, through two separate maritime boundary agreements signed on 30 January 1974. The first Agreement defined a 275 nautical mile long boundary through their northern continental shelf claims, while the second established a Joint Development Zone (JDZ) in the southern region.

To the north of the delimited maritime boundary lies an ongoing source of tension between the two States over sovereignty of a small island chain known as Dokdo Islands in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan. Control of the islands has been disputed since 1945, and South Korea currently has de facto control.