South Korea files protest with Japan over disputed islets

ISTANBUL

South Korea protested Tuesday after Japan renewed territorial claims to disputed islets located between the two countries, local media reported.

The islets are known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry summoned Hirotaka Matsuo, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, and lodged a formal protest after Tokyo approved new high school textbooks that reiterate its territorial claims over the disputed Dokdo islets, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

"We strongly protest the approval of high school textbooks that distort historical facts and call for their immediate correction," Park Il, South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in a separate statement.

Seoul’s reaction came after Japan's Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry announced the final list of social studies-related textbooks approved for use in high schools starting next year.

Most of the textbooks describe Dokdo, referred to as Takeshima by Japan, as part of Japanese territory.

Dokdo has long remained a sensitive issue between the two countries, as Japan continues to assert sovereignty in policy papers, public statements, and school textbooks.

South Korea maintains a small police detachment on the islets, effectively exercising control over them.