The South Korean government summoned the number two diplomat as well as a military attaché at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to officially protest Tokyo's repeated claims to the Dokdo islets in an annual defense policy paper.

The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called in deputy chief of mission Hirohisa Soma after Japan laid claim to the islets for the 17th year in its white paper. 

The Defense Ministry summoned Takashi Matsumoto,​ a defense attaché at the embassy. 

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi presented the paper to the Cabinet earlier in the day. The report could negatively affect President Moon Jae-in's possible visit to Tokyo for the Olympics. 

Public sentiment regarding the Games to be hosted by Japan had already turned sour after Tokyo included Dokdo on a map showing the Olympic torch relay route earlier this year.

The white paper also suggested that a "negative response" from South Korea's defense authorities could adversely affect trilateral defense cooperation with the U.S.