The foreign ministry lodged a strong protest against Japan's weather agency for labeling South Korea's easternmost Dokdo islets as Japanese territory in maps depicting the path of Super Typhoon Hinnamnor. 

The ministry said on Monday in a statement that Dokdo islets are South Korean territory historically, geographically and by international law.

The ministry stressed that it will sternly respond to Japan's unjust infringement upon South Korea's territorial sovereignty, adding it asked the neighboring country to correct the mistake. 

Professor Seo Kyoung-duk at Sungshin Women's University, first alerted the government and news outlets that Dokdo was labeled as Japanese territory on weather maps posted on the website of the Japan Meteorological Agency. 

Seo, renowned for his efforts to promote Korean interests overseas, said that he sent out emails on Monday morning to protest the map designations.

The professor added that the Japanese weather agency and Yahoo! Japan persistently defines Dokdo as Japanese territory on their weather apps, which may give erroneous information to online users who read Japanese.