South Korea and Japan reportedly clashed during a UN meeting over what to call the body of water situated between the two countries.

According to South Korea's Foreign Ministry and its Permanent Mission to the United Nations, the first session of the UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names was held at UN headquarters in New York this week from Monday to Friday.

The South Korean delegation called for a joint labeling of both East Sea and Sea of Japan, noting that the naming issue is still disputed among the concerned parties.

However, Japan argued that Sea of Japan is the established name under international law.

Korean officials explained why the East Sea moniker is also justified saying its usage continues to spread and that global agencies recommend the indication of all geographical names when the related nations fail to reach an agreement.

The Korean delegation, led by Foreign Ministry director Yoo Ki-june, was comprised of officials from the National Geographic Information Institute, the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency and the Northeast Asian History Foundation.

Seoul has been raising the East Sea name issue since 1992 at the UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, the predecessor of the newly launched UN expert group.