South Korea summons Japanese defense attache over territorial claims
The islets, which are called Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese, are located in the East Sea between the two countries. South Korea has controlled the islands since 1952 with a coast guard contingent, but they have been at the center of a diplomatic dispute that goes back hundreds of years.
Tokyo's latest annual defense white paper asserts that Dokdo and the Russian-controlled Kuril Islands are "inherent territories of Japan" and calls issues around them "unresolved." It uses the Japanese names for both island groups, referring to the Kuril Islands as the Northern Territories and to Dokdo as Takeshima.
Defense Ministry director general for international policy Lee Gwang-seok summoned Japanese defense attache Inoue Hirofumi on Tuesday over the claims.
In the meeting, Lee "reaffirmed that Dokdo is [South Korea's] inherent territory historically, geographically and under international law," according to a ministry statement sent to reporters.
Lee added that South Korea would "respond resolutely to any attempt to infringe upon our sovereignty over Dokdo."
South Korea's Foreign Ministry also responded to the white paper on Tuesday by calling in the Japanese Embassy's acting minister Yoshiyasu Iseki and urging Tokyo to withdraw its claims.
"The [South Korean] government strongly protests the Japanese government's repeated unjust territorial claims to Dokdo, which is clearly our inherent territory in terms of history, geography and international law," the ministry said in a statement.
"The government once again makes it clear that no claims by the Japanese government regarding Dokdo ... have any influence on our sovereignty, and declares that it will respond resolutely to any provocations by Japan regarding Dokdo," the statement said.
The dispute comes as historically frosty relations between Seoul and Tokyo have thawed in recent years, with improved diplomatic ties and closer trilateral security cooperation with Washington.
This year's defense white paper includes language, introduced in last year's edition, calling South Korea "an important neighboring country with which we should cooperate as a partner in responding to various challenges in the international community."
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