South Korea’s national flag, Taegeukgi, is spread over a dock on Dokdo on June 30, 2025, in this file photo provided by professor Seo Kyoung-duk of Sungshin University. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government on Tuesday “strongly” protested after Japan reiterated its territorial claim to the easternmost South Korean islets of Dokdo in this year’s defense white paper, summoning Japanese Embassy officials to lodge a complaint.
“The government strongly protests Japan’s reiteration of its unjust territorial claim to Dokdo,” South Korea’s foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement, describing the islets as South Korean territory in terms of history, geography and international law.
The spokesperson also called for the “immediate” withdrawal of Japan’s claim, warning that the government will respond sternly to any provocations from Japan regarding Dokdo.
Seoul’s defense ministry echoed the call, vowing a “stern” response to any attempt to undermine the country’s territorial right.
Both ministries called in officials from the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to lodge complaints.
The foreign ministry summoned Yoshiyasu Iseki, the embassy’s acting minister, to deliver a formal protest, while the defense ministry called in the embassy’s defense attache.
The foreign ministry lodged a complaint over the renewed territorial claim, as well as the publication of a children’s edition of the defense white paper that also asserts sovereignty over Dokdo.
The children’s defense white paper had been available only online since 2021, but this year it was printed as a book and distributed to elementary schools for the first time.
Following a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, the Japanese government released its annual defense white paper, referring to Dokdo by the Japanese name, Takeshiman, and describing it as part of Japan’s territory.
The territorial issues over the islets “still remain unresolved,” the white paper said, marking the 21st consecutive year the document has included Japan’s claim to Dokdo
Dokdo has long been a recurring source of tension between the two neighbors, as Tokyo continues to make the sovereignty claims in its policy papers, public statements and school textbooks.
South Korea maintains a small police detachment on the islets, effectively controlling them.
(Yonhap)
