YONHAP NEWS

(2nd LD) Seoul slams Tokyo's fresh claim to Dokdo

SEOUL/TOKYO, July 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Friday blasted Japan over its latest claim to the South Korean islets of Dokdo in an annual defense white paper, accusing Tokyo of raising tensions less than a month after the two countries held a summit.

   In a cabinet meeting earlier in the day, Tokyo approved its 2009 defense white paper containing the same language on Dokdo as in the 2008 version.

   The document has claimed Japan's territorial rights to Dokdo since 2005.

   Seoul's foreign ministry expressed its concerns to the Japanese government through diplomatic channels, its spokesman said.

   "The government will deal sternly with any attempts to infringe upon our sovereignty over Dokdo," ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said.

   The defense ministry issued a statement, saying, "We sternly oppose Japan's description of Dokdo as part of Japanese territory and demand an immediate correction by the Japanese government."

   "We stress once again that we won't accept Japan's claim to Dokdo, which is clearly Korean territory in terms of history, geography and international laws," the ministry said.

   It urged Tokyo to clearly recognize that the repeated claims would only get in the way of the two countries' bid to develop their relationship into that of a future-oriented partnership.

   Dokdo has long been a key target of Japan's territorial claims. South Korea has stationed a police contingent on the islets since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War to effectively control them. A married couple now resides there during the fishing season.

   Japan's latest move comes less than a month after the summit between President Lee Myung-bak and Prime Minister Taro Aso in Tokyo, during which they promised to increase cooperation and economic ties.

   odissy@yna.co.kr
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