The ruling Democratic Party on Tuesday denounced Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s renewed claim that Dokdo—which Japan calls Takeshima—is Japanese territory, calling the remarks a repeated distortion of history.

In a statement, party spokesperson Moon Dae-rim said the prime minister’s comments during a House of Representatives budget committee meeting constituted a “serious provocation” that infringed on Korea’s sovereignty and contradicted both international norms and historical facts.

Moon criticized the remarks as evidence that the Japanese government is using Dokdo as political propaganda, urging Takaichi to withdraw what he called anachronistic claims and to issue a responsible apology with guarantees against recurrence.

He added that any attempt to escalate territorial provocations—including dispatching cabinet-level officials to the “Takeshima Day” event—would be unacceptable, particularly at a moment when discussions of a bilateral summit are underway.

Takaichi made the comments after a Japanese ruling party lawmaker claimed Korea’s “illegal occupation” of the islets remains unchanged, prompting her to reiterate Tokyo’s position that the territory is “inherently Japanese” on both historical and international legal grounds.