A major atlas printed by a French publishing company this year has listed the waters between South Korea and Japan as both East Sea and Sea of Japan.

French publishing firms said Monday that Le Grand Atlas of 2012 used equal-sized characters to label the waters, marking the first joint use of the terms in a global atlas.

The French publication's decision to print both terms comes after the International Hydrographic Organization chose in April to shelve a decision for five years on whether to officially recognize the body of water as the "East Sea."