Seoul: The foreign ministry lodged a "strong" protest Tuesday after Japan again laid a territorial claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo in its latest defense white paper and urged Tokyo to immediately withdraw it. The ministry summoned Kazuo Tsuchiya, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to deliver its formal complaints.

According to Yonhap News Agency, "The government strongly protests Japan's repeated, unjust territorial claim to Dokdo and calls for its immediate withdrawal," Park Doo-soon, the ministry's spokesperson, said in a regular briefing, stressing that the islets are "indisputably" South Korean territory under "history, geography and international law." Park further emphasized that Japan's claims do not affect South Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo, asserting a firm response to any provocations by Japan.

Kim Hak-jo, director general for international policy at the defense ministry, also called in Takeshi Nagayoshi, a military attache at the Japanese embassy, to lodge a complaint and demand an immediate withdrawal of Japan's claims to the islets. The white paper from Japan, while restating its claim over Dokdo, also highlighted the importance of bilateral relations with South Korea, recognizing it as a partner and an important neighbor in addressing shared global challenges.

Japan has been working to deepen cooperation with Seoul as North Korea's growing military and economic ties with Russia and China pose an increasing threat to the region. The Japanese government released the annual white paper following a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, renewing its territorial claim to Dokdo.

Dokdo has long been a recurring source of friction 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.