South Korea has strongly protested against Japan’s renewed claim over the Dokdo islets in its annual defense white paper, calling for an immediate retraction.

According to the foreign ministry on Friday, Seo Min-jeong, director-general for Asia and Pacific affairs, summoned Mondo Yamamoto, acting deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy, to lodge the protest.

The ministry spokesperson issued a statement saying that Seoul strongly objects to Tokyo's repeated unjustified claim over the islets, which are historically, geographically, and by international law a part of South Korean territory.

Seoul also pledged to respond sternly to any type of provocation regarding Dokdo, before urging the neighboring country to face the fact that its renewed claims are detrimental to the establishment of the two sides' future-oriented ties.

The Fumio Kishida Cabinet earlier adopted the 2023 defense white paper, which claimed that the territorial dispute over the easternmost islets remains unresolved.